Healthcare Marketing Done Right

The Blossoming of a Healthcare Brand

2012-03-02T09:39:00.000-05:00

Over the last few months I've written several posts about the launch of the new Vidant Health brand in eastern North Carolina ("Launch Day for a New Health System Brand" & "The Birth of a Health System Brand"). Yesterday I had a full day of meetings at Vidant Health's headquarters in Greenville, NC. When I visit Greenville, I always try to arrive a few minutes early so I can swing by the local Starbucks and pick up a latte (non-fat) before heading into my first meeting. Yesterday, as my team and I headed to the counter of Starbucks, we were greeted with the vision of two women wearing Vidant Health launch t-shirts! See photo below.

Why am I excited about two women wearing Vidant Health t-shirts? Because it's the beginning - a sign of the dissemination of the brand across the region. This is how it starts - with t-shirts, signs on buses, parking decals (see below), coffee mugs and dozens of other applications. At some point in time, the brand takes on a life of its own and is very much in the hands of the brand constituents. Your job then is to reaffirm the choice of the individual to support your brand (remind them why they love you) and make sure that your organization stays true to its promise at every brand touchpoint (in-person, online, over the phone, etc.). For now, it is exciting to see the Vidant Health brand take root in eastern North Carolina as it shares its vision for healthier communities across the region.

Are We There Yet? The Healthcare Social Media Conundrum

2012-02-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

My question is: When will we reach the point where the majority of marketing and communications professionals within healthcare understand and use social media to advance their organization's business goals? I'm not talking specifically about marketing departments. This applies to people involved in physician relations, referring physician marketing, physician and employee recruitment, and so much more. Through marketing conferences, webinars and industry publications, healthcare marketers have received a barrage of information about the relevance of social media to their professional lives. However, I'm not sure that this same communication has reached other parts of the healthcare organization with the same level of intensity and impact. It amazes me that this remains an uphill battle.

A week ago I attended the Physician Strategies Summit, produced by the Forum for Healthcare Strategists. It was an exceptional conference. The attendees seemed eager to learn and actively engaged the speakers with great questions. And several of the presentations were superb.

The conference was largely attended by professionals who work in the physician relations arena, rather than traditional service line or institutional marketers. One of the things that surprised me (why am I ever surprised?) was the relatively small number of individuals tweeting from the Summit. (I've grown accustomed to seeing conference attendees with electronic devices in hand.) I know that the number of people tweeting is not the best measure of social media adoption or sophistication, but it does seem to be an indicator that these professionals may not have traveled as far down the social media adoption continuum as some others. While I was keeping track, I noted 17 people contributing tweets or retweets during the sessions. However, of those, only a handful were actual conference attendees. The others were people following the Twitter stream long distance. Below is a snapshot of the Twitter analytics from the the end of Day Two of the conference:

Below is a screen shot of a TweetReach report showing data for the 50 most recent tweets at the time of the report (Monday, Feb 20, 10am). It tells a similar story: very few people tweeting during the sessions.

I don't know the answer to my initial question, and I acknowledge that social media is not the silver bullet for marketers in our industry. But social media platforms, integrated with traditional marketing tools, can allow for a level of engagement not previously achieved through old school marketing tactics alone. We are now several years into this communications revolution. And every time I think I've seen my last Social Media 101 presentation (good riddance), I find that I have wrongly assessed the state of our industry, and Social Media 101 is still relevant.

Of course, as I write this, I am preparing to lead a Social Media 101 workshop for a gathering of dentists in North Carolina. As I've noted in at least one prior blog post, I have a dental phobia so this should be really interesting. What will it be like facing an entire room full of dentists? Perhaps they fear social media as much as I fear being in the dentist's chair! I look forward to welcoming them to the world of Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and so much more! The world of consumer engagement!

Great Story Telling Linking Technology to Care

2012-02-28T06:30:00.000-05:00

GE Stories: Healthcare

I've seen the GE Healthcare television commercial where they united the employees who make sophisticated diagnostic technologies with cancer survivors who have benefited from the technology. Below is a long-form version of that video. It is incredibly well done. GE recognizes that technology is relevant because of the impact it has on real people. Connecting its employees with survivors lets us know that there are caring, motivated people behind the technology. In the end, it is much easier to relate to them rather than some multinational corporation. With this video, and others like it, GE gives itself a human face.

The Two Physicians Who Rocked the Physician Strategies Summit

2012-02-27T06:30:00.000-05:00

I just returned from attending the Physician Strategies Summit in Orlando, Florida, where I sat in on a number of informative presentations. However, two presenters absolutely stole the show: Wendy Sue Swanson, MD (@SeattleMamaDoc) and Russell Faust, MD (@RussellFaust). I have long been an advocate of bringing the voice of the patient and the physician to these conferences. Physician liaisons, recruiters, and healthcare marketers can all benefit from exposure to ePatients and physician thought leaders.

Both Dr. Swanson and Dr. Faust are early adopters of social media, and both have embraced blogging as a channel through which they can engage and educate patients. Dr. Faust's blog can be found at http://www.boogordoctor.com. He is a pediatric ENT surgeon, who has an integrative, holistic approach to care. Dr. Swanson is probably better known as Seattle Mama Doc, a mom and pediatrician who maintains a busy medical practice while writing the Seattle Mama Doc blog for Seattle Children's Hospital. In her spare time she flies around the country giving passionate keynote addresses.

I recorded some of Dr. Swanson's talk on my Flip Video Camera. Roughly 30-minutes of her presentation appear below. One of the lessons we all can learn from Dr. Swanson, and she spoke about this at the Summit, is the way she uses Twitter. She was careful to point out that not only does she share content on Twitter, but she also spends a significant amount of time just listening. She uses Twitter to find out what research is being talked about, what drug recalls are making news, and what kind of information her patients may be taking in (and reacting to). Through Twitter, Dr. Swanson tracks the health conversations of the day and gets a feeling for what may be causing concern for parents. In my opinion, this makes her a better doctor, able to anticipate patient questions and concerns. She is also better able to counter misinformation that they've picked up online - and there's a lot of that out there. Enjoy Dr. Swanson's presentation:

Untitled from Dan Dunlop on Vimeo.

Need to Know: 5 Women in Health IT

2012-02-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

Guest post by Katie Matlack, Medical Market Analyst, Software Advice

You want irony? Try this: the Kaiser Family Foundation <http://www.kff.org/womenshealth/upload/women-and-health-care-a-national-profile-key-findings-from-the-kaiser-women-s-health-survey.pdf> reports that we women are the ones making the health care choices for the kids in 8 out of 10 families. Yet women are far and away the minority gender in the world of health IT leaders. Health IT is one of the most important segments of health care, during a time of great change. If women are the ones who’ll be where the rubber hits the road when it comes to the future of health, why aren’t more of us, more involved, in determining what that future of health looks like?

While this is by no means the definitive list, I’ve done some research on the women who ARE making their mark in HIT. I list five to know below. They’ve been included both for their individual accomplishments and for the attention I think that’s due in the areas of health IT where they’re active.

Regina Holliday - The Patient Advocate

Regina <http://reginaholliday.blogspot.com/> uses art to lobby for attention to be paid to patients; she became a patient advocate after witnessing her late husband’s struggle to receive appropriate care for kidney cancer. She paints at big-time medical conventions, reminding attendees that Meaningful Use (MU) requirements of new electronic medical records programs--oft discussed today in the context of government payouts--were created with the intent to improve patient care and save lives. And she reminds us that electronic health records (EHRs) should be clear and transparent. Why does an artist get top billing in a piece on information technology? Because her point--the that the goal of the technology is to make it easier for people to be and stay well--is, well, pretty important.

Judith Faulkner - The Veteran

More than three decades ago Judith Faulkner started a small company, Epic, that has today grown into the provider of the EHR software for most of the largest hospitals in the US. Epic <http://www.epic.com/> is also the system used by Kaiser Permanente, the biggest care provider in the country that’s not an arm of the government. And it’s in the running to be the solution used by the Veteran’s Administration (VA). Given that Faulkner is staunchly against an effort to have all EHRs move towards becoming interoperable with one another, this last fact has some folks mighty alarmed. Faulkner is still involved in any major company decision and drives the company’s unique corporate culture, and she’s got a seat on President Obama’s Health IT Policy Committee that’ll be making recommendations on “development and adoption of a nationwide health information infrastructure, including standards for the exchange of patient medical information.”

Susannah Fox - The Researcher

She’s responsible for studying what goes on at the crossroads of technology, health and the interwebs, as the Researcher on Health and Health Care for the Pew Internet Project. So Susannah Fox brings us some mighty interesting data <http://www.pewinternet.org/Experts/~/link.aspx?_id=E26587FE8FDB443A8610ECB87E635F94&_z=z> about the habits of Americans when it comes to how many of us look online for health information (59 percent), what specific kinds of health information we seek (specific diseases or conditions, treatments or procedures, and doctors or other health professionals), and who we seek it from (increasingly, from other people who might have conditions similar to ours). Fox blogs regularly on e-Patients.net [http://e-patients.net/] and is helping researchers understand the habits of patients so that health IT can better meet those needs.

Halle Tecco - The Connecter

The company she co-founded has yet to celebrate its second birthday. Yet Tecco’s Rock Health <http://rockhealth.com/> --an accelerator “powering the future of the digital health ecosystem” by providing capital and mentorship to health startups--has funding from giants like Microsoft and Quest Diagnostics, and two of its “graduates” have secured additional funding from other investors. Tecco was chosen because of the power of her idea: that innovators could put tools and systems out there that could rejuvenate healthcare, make it not “just okay” but make it really rock. She was also chosen because she shows you don’t need to have gone to medical school to make a big impact in medicine: Tecco’s background is in tech and business.

Amy Sheng - The Inventor

Sheng also co-created CellScope <http://www.cellscope.com/> , Inc., with Erik Douglas, less than two years ago. CellScope uses optical attachments to transform smartphones into diagnostic-quality imaging systems. In the right hands, this technology has the potential to transform lives: in the developing world it can be used in village clinics, while here in the US consumers can use the CellScope to access expert diagnosis and advice. Sheng’s work demonstrates the great potential for telehealth solutions to break down the barriers separating developing countries from high quality health care.

Have I left anyone important off the list? Please email me at katie@softwareadvice.com with your suggestions and feedback. I sincerely appreciate it!

Katie Matlack is the Medical Analyst for Software Advice, where she writes about electronic health record system <http://www.softwareadvice.com/medical/electronic-medical-record-software-comparison/> options and other HIT topics on the Software Advice blog <http://blog.softwareadvice.com/> .

Healthcare Awards Madness!

2012-02-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

It is that time of year when my team is entering our work for healthcare clients in a variety of award competitions. If you've never done this on a large scale, let me tell you that entering these competitions can be a monumental undertaking. It becomes particularly daunting when you are submitting entries representing a number of different hospitals and health systems. Some of the competitions (Lamplighter Awards for example) have gone to entirely electronic submission processes. That is wonderful, yet still time consuming, but not nearly as labor intensive as some of the competitions using old school methods. By old school I mean that every entry has to be printed out, trimmed, and then spray mounted to art board (which also has to be cut to size). TV commercials and videos have to be burned to DVDs and radio spots burned to CDs. Additionally, two copies of the entry form have to be attached to each submission. Then the entire group of submissions are boxed up and sent via FedEx (or your carrier of choice) to the sponsoring agency. (To think that we pay for the opportunity to do all of this!) The whole process involves a ton of materials, time and agonizing coordination. So why do we do it?

Winning awards is affirming. We work hard all year and it is nice to have our work put to the test.
Our staff enjoys the recognition. The people who create the advertising (art directors, production artists, copywriters) rarely get recognition or props for their work. In fact, they spend most of their time making edits and tweaks to accommodate requests from clients and account people. It is rare that the work goes unscathed. The final product is often the result of a series of compromises that waters down the original concept.
Our hospital clients like the recognition. And they deserve the recognition. Just like my team, they are constantly responding to feedback from numerous internal clients who want to add their insights and put their thumb print on the campaign. It is a huge victory when we all come together and produce something award worthy!

Below are a few photos of the awards submission process at Jennings. Two members of my team worked late into the night, pulling the bulk of the entries together for this particular competition. We'll be doing it all over again next week for another national healthcare marketing competition.

Brand Experience & Organizational Culture: Recruiting Physicians Online

2012-02-21T11:00:00.000-05:00

Today I presented, together with my colleague Kevin Robinson of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, at the Physician Strategies Summit in Orlando, FL. Kevin and I presented on the importance of the online brand experience when recruiting physicians. In short, what does your online presence, in all of its forms, say about your organization and its values? Below is the PPT presentation which you can also find by going to my slideshare site: http://www.slideshare.net/dandunlop.

Brand Experience & Culture: Recruiting Physicians Online

View more presentations from Jennings (Dan Dunlop)

People You Should Meet at the Physician Strategies Summit

2012-02-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

Today in Orlando is the start of the Physician Strategies Summit, jointly sponsored by the Forum for Healthcare Strategists (of which I am a member) and the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine. I'm attending the conference, and speaking on Tuesday morning. One of the thing I always do at these events is make a point of connecting with industry colleagues over the course of the conference. I find that the networking and conversations are often more enriching than the session - even with really solid educational sessions.

Here's a list of a few of the people that I recommend you introduce yourself to while attending the Physician Strategies Summit:

Dean Berg, Digital Strategist at Anicca Media, LLC - You can follow Dean on Twitter: @deanberg.
Russell Faust, MD, Chief, Pediatric ENT, St. John/Providence Health System, Ascension Health Michigan and Chief Medical Officer, Annica Media, LLC
Wendy Sue Swanson, MD - Keynote speaker, pediatrician, blogger
Kevin Robinson, Communications Director, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center - Kevin is my co-presenter on Tuesday
Linda MacCracken, VP, Product Management Healthcare & Science, Thomson Reuters
Gabrielle DeTora, Interim Chief Marketing Officer at Mercy Health System
And of course, Dan Dunlop (yours truly). If you see me wandering around aimlessly, please stop me and say hello. One of the benefits of attending events like this is the opportunity to meet peers for the first time.

Just What I Needed, An Excuse To Eat More Indian and Thai Food

2012-02-17T07:00:00.000-05:00

According to a recent article in FierceBiotechResearch, a study from researchers at Thomas Jefferson University's Kimmel Cancer Center found that one of the ingredients commonly found in curry seasoning has been found to slow the growth of prostate cancer cells, both in mice and in petri dish tests. Of course, I'm excited by the news because I love curry and I've always believed that South Asian cuisine has medicinal qualities. Putting my love of Indian and Thai food aside, it looks like the practical application of this finding will be found in the development of new drugs that harness the power of curcumin.

"The scientists believe that curcumin, an element of the turmeric spice, could form the basis of a drug that helps block androgen receptor signaling, something that could be used along with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) to help boost its effectiveness. Androgen is a male hormone that fuels prostate cancer growth, and it turns out that ADT can't always keep the prostate cancer from spreading."

So, it looks like a new treatment for prostate cancer will not include eating massive doses of Indian food. However, it does look like curcumin could lead to a new food-based drug of real significance. To access the story on FierceBiotechResearch, go to http://tinyurl.com/6q54cmh.

Here's the body of the Press Release announcing this exciting new finding:

Curry spice component may help slow prostate tumor growth

Data supports use of curcumin in combination with androgen deprivation therapy to reduce castrate-resistant prostate cancer cell and tumor growth

10-Feb-2012

PHILADELPHIA - Curcumin, an active component of the Indian curry spice turmeric, may help slow down tumor growth in castration-resistant prostate cancer patients on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), a study from researchers at Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center suggests.

Sign up for our FREE newsletter for more news like this sent to your inbox!

Reporting in a recent issue of Cancer Research, Karen Knudsen, Ph.D., a Professor of Cancer Biology, Urology and Radiation Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University, and colleagues observed in a pre-clinical study that curcumin suppresses two known nuclear receptor activators, p300 and CPB (or CREB1-binding protein), which have been shown to work against ADT.

ADT aims to inhibit the androgen receptor-an important male hormone in the development and progression of prostate cancer-in patients. But a major mechanism of therapeutic failure and progression to advanced disease is inappropriate reactivation of this receptor. Sophisticated tumor cells, with the help of p300 and CPB, sometimes bypass the therapy.

Thus, development of novel targets that act in concert with the therapy would be of benefit to patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer.

For the study, prostate cancer cells were subjected to hormone deprivation in the presence and absence of curcumin with "physiologically attainable' doses. (Previous studies, which found similar results, included doses that were not realistic.)

Curcumin augments the results of ADT, and reduced cell number compared to ADT alone, the researchers found. Moreover, the spice was found to be a potent inhibitor of both cell cycle and survival in prostate cancer cells.

To help support their findings, the researchers also investigated curcumin in mice, which were castrated to mimic ADT. They were randomized into two cohorts: curcumin and control. Tumor growth and mass were significantly reduced in the mice with curcumin, the researchers report.

These data demonstrate for the first time that curcumin not only hampers the transition of ADT-sensitive disease to castration-resistance, but is also effective in blocking the growth of established castrate-resistant prostate tumors.

"This study sets the stage for further development of curcumin as a novel agent to target androgen receptor signaling," said Dr. Knudsen. "It also has implications beyond prostate cancer since p300 and CBP are important in other malignancies, like breast cancer. In tumors where these play an important function, curcumin may prove to be a promising therapeutic agent."

Contact: Steve Graff

stephen.graff@jefferson.edu

215-955-5291

Thomas Jefferson University

Pinterest for Healthcare Marketers

2012-02-16T06:30:00.000-05:00

Have you ever asked yourself if there will come a point in time when you can't keep up with the newest and greatest in the world of social media? It has certainly occurred to me. It is enough to make my head spin.

This week my friend Dan Hinmon from Hive Strategies drew my attention to a new post on his blog by Jean Kelso Sandlin titled "Interest in Pinterest? How Hospitals Can Use the Newest Social Media Tool." It is an excellent post that begins to unravel the mystery of Pinterest for healthcare communicators. I encourage you to check it out. Here's how Kelso describes the new visual social network:

"Briefly, Pinterest is a curation tool that enables users to create “boards” where they “pin” items of interest and share them. Boards can be about specific areas of interest, for example “Books I Love.” And the user can “pin” any URL of the book they want to share. Once these books are pinned and added to the “Board,” the board becomes a visual representation of the books the user loves with links. Others can see them and “like” them or “pin” them – meaning they appear on their boards, too."

Lately I've been distracted by Google+, but this weekend I took time away from my Google+ orientation, finally acting upon an invitation to join Pinterest, and actually spent some time exploring the platform. Below is a look at the three pin boards I built (works in progress as I suspect all boards should be). The three boards I created are: 1) Healthcare Marketing; 2) Books Worth Reading; and 3) Blogs I Recommend. Each has a healthcare marketing bent. Click on an image below to see a larger version - or click on the links above to go to my Pinterest page.

Giving Back

2012-02-15T06:30:00.000-05:00

I'm taking time out on my blog to celebrate the spirit of giving back. This holiday season my company held an online food drive for a local food pantry. We sent out mailers to clients and friends. On each mailer there was a code. For each person who went online to visit our special microsite and enter their secret code (thereby donating a can of food virtually), we would donate an additional can of food. 250 individuals took us up on our offer and entered their codes online. In all, that meant Jennings would donate 500 cans of food to the Interfaith Council for Social Services (IFC).

Even better, when we approached our local Food Lion grocery store, they generously agree to match our donation - meaning 1,000 cans would go to the food pantry!

Last Friday, my entire team stopped working and headed to our local Food Lion to be a part of the donation. Below are some photos of IFC, Jennings and Food Lion employees picking up the the canned goods at Food Lion and delivering them to IFC. It was definitely a nice way to end the week.

Honoring Your Past While Embracing the Future

2012-02-14T06:30:00.000-05:00

As I've documented in this blog over the last several weeks, my firm recently helped launch a new health system brand in eastern North Carolina: Vidant Health. The health system includes 11,000 employees, 10 hospitals and hundreds of physicians. Each of the hospitals that make up this system has a rich legacy serving its community. None is richer than Vidant Medical Center, formerly Pitt County Memorial Hospital. Vidant Medical Center is one of only four AMCs in North Carolina. It is the anchor hospital in the system.

While everyone was focused on launching the new Vidant Health brand, the organization's leaders made sure that Vidant Medical Center's legacy was appropriately honored. Along with naming the medical center building "The Pitt Memorial Building" and erecting a tribute wall within the hospital lobby, they produced a 10 minute video that celebrates the rich legacy of Pitt County Memorial Hospital.

It is easy to charge ahead, embracing the future, forgetting to acknowledge those who came before us and who built the foundation upon which we stand. The visionaries at Vidant Health understood this. Below is the tribute video they produced honoring those who made it possible for Vidant Health to become a modern, integrated system of care serving a 29-county region larger than the state of Maryland.

Physician Strategies Summit: February 19 - 21, 2012

2012-02-13T06:30:00.000-05:00

Beginning Sunday of this week, I will be attending the Physician Strategies Summit in Orlando, Florida. I'm really looking forward to this event. Not only have they invited me to speak on the topic of physician recruitment, but my presentation directly follows a keynote by Wendy Sue Swanson, M.D., aka Seattle Mama Doc. Dr. Swanson is a pediatrician who blogs for Seattle Children's Hospital. I am a huge fan of Dr. Swanson's. We both speak at a lot of conference, but this is the first time we've appeared on the same agenda. If you've never heard Dr. Swanson speak, I strongly recommend you find a way to attend the Summit. You'll leave the presentation wishing every physician felt the way she does about social media and patient engagement. When Dr. Swanson spoke at the Mayo Ragan Social Media Summit last year, I made sure I was in the front row. She gave a stirring talk. The audience was blown away.

After Seattle Mama Doc's presentation, I'll try to sustain the energy and passion when I present with my colleague Kevin Robinson of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center. We're going to talk about the importance of communicating values and organizational culture through all brand touchpoints in the physician recruitment process. We'll discuss how brand experience extends to your hospital's public relations efforts, website copy, and social media. Kevin has a remarkable story to tell about Southwestern Vermont Medical Center's recruitment efforts in the face of a serious crisis: they had 25 physician openings for a staff of 140, with 10 positions vacant for more than 12 months. They created a new online strategy in conjunction with their offline branding campaign to recruit new physicians, specifically millennial doctors who’d graduated or completed residency after 2000, who would appreciate the lifestyle and sense of community offered at SVMC. The campaign differentiated SVMC by showcasing not only its top-quality care and sane pace of life, but by devising ways for prospective applicants to experience the culture inside the hospital via the web (brand experience). It combined social networking concepts, YouTube-like videos, and a strong sense of whimsy to target upcoming medical school graduates. Additionally, it provided applicants easy access to information on local housing, schools and outdoor activities as well as links to restaurants, weekend getaways and hiking. The Results: After launching, SVMC applicant pool jumped more than 1300%. I'll let Kevin tell you the rest of the story...

Another presentation I'm looking forward to attending is being given by Dean Berg and Russell Faust, M.D. on Physician Communication and Social Media. I'm doing a similar presentation at the AAMC Professional Development Conference in March (Palm Springs), so I'm really curious to hear how Russell and Dean approach the subject matter. So few organizations are using social media to target employed and referring physician, it represents a great opportunity and a new frontier in physician marketing. It is something I'm passionate about. This promises to be a terrific presentation.

Below are a couple of additional presentations I recommend attending. The first features my friend and colleague Gabrielle DeTora, one of the smartest marketers and strategists I know. The second features Linda MacCracken of Thomson Reuters, an equally brilliant thinker with an analytical mind that makes my head spin. These are two really smart healthcare marketers. Even better, they both have extremely experience co-presenters sharing the stage.

I hope to see you at the Physician Strategies Summit! If you see me in the crowd, please come up and say hello.

Making Sense of EHR Choices

2012-02-10T06:30:00.000-05:00

As a blogger, I get contacted daily by various individuals and companies looking to promote their services. Usually these hold no appeal for me. However, once in a while I will come across a resource that I think is worth sharing. The other day I was contact by James Resetco of FindTheBest, a website that allows individuals to do side-by-side comparisons of product offerings within a given niche. Frankly, I had never heard of them before. (They also have a comprehensive comparison of blogs!) The industry niche James contacted me about is the EHR/EMR market. The entire EMR/EHR area is a hot topic, even on my blog. A post I wrote in 2011 titled " iPad EMR Apps: A Guide to Electronic Medical Records" was one of my most read posts of last year. That tells me there's an interest in the subject matter!

FindTheBest's EHR/EMR comparison (http://ehr-software.findthebest.com/) allows users to compare and filter EHR software by specialty, certifications, basic features, practice management features and more. Their data-driven comparison is human-curated to ensure accuracy with useful features including the ability to compare multiple products on an in-depth side-by-side format. The site also has a buying guide that outlines what to look for in Electronic Health Records software. The buying guide also includes a glossary of terms and an FAQ.

If your hospital is in the market for EHR/EMR technology, this looks like a useful tool. You can check it out yourself at http://ehr-software.findthebest.com/.

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iRounds by Doximity: Twitter for Physicians

2012-02-09T06:30:00.000-05:00

Doximity, a leading online professional physician network, recently announced the launch of iRounds, the first HIPAA-secure forum for doctors. The platform enables members to tap into the collective knowledge and experience of more than 30,000 of their colleagues for consultation on patient cases, emerging medical technologies, new research and best practices.

According to a press release from Doximity, thousands of physicians have already tested iRounds, discussing topics ranging from unusual or difficult cases to clinical uses for new technologies. A number of patient cases have sparked active discussions-and interesting resolutions-including:

A patient who accidentally swallowed a metal bristle from a barbeque grill brush embedded in his food, resulting in a perforated bowel and abdominal pain. The discussion brought forth another doctor who'd seen a similar case. The two now plan to write up and submit their findings for publication as a case series in a medical journal.
A case of oddly timed, recurrent hives. Within hours, the doctor who posted the case received detailed feedback and suggestions from a dermatologist, an allergist and several other specialists in determining the source and treating the case.
A child with Clostridium difficile colitis (a bad intestinal infection) resistant to standard therapy. A request for help by the treating physician resulted in specific, same-day advice from one of the world's leading experts in the disease, including discussion of a new experimental treatment protocol involving "bacterial transplantation."

"With iRounds, I was able to connect directly to and receive rapid feedback from a wide range of specialists and quickly get my patient referred to an appropriate doctor for treatment," said Dr. Rafael Lugo, MD, who posted photos of a rare tumor as it progressed. "Medicine is very much a team sport and iRounds is changing the way we practice by putting this collective knowledge right at our fingertips. Patients benefit significantly more from the skill and experience of 30,000 doctors, as opposed to just one."

Using iRounds, member physicians can learn more about the background, practice location, credentials, clinical expertise and research interests of participating colleagues, simply by clicking to view their Doximity profile. All iRounds discussions are conducted in a private and secure environment with members-only access for verified Doximity physicians and medical students.

"iRounds enables doctors to consult with the largest online community of their peers on matters of real clinical and practical significance-specific patient cases, referrals, collaboration on research," said Jeff Tangney, Doximity founder and CEO. "Most physicians don't have access to this kind of interaction after their residencies. iRounds fills the gap as physicians move on to private and hospital practice and no longer have the opportunity to participate in journal clubs and other collective clinical discussion."

iRounds is part of the Doximity platform, the largest professional network for physicians on the web where more than 5 percent of U.S. physicians are now members. Doximity provides a HIPAA-secure communication platform for doctors to connect and collaborate with their peers both online and with smartphone apps for iPhone and Android devices.

Recently, FierceHealthIT had an interesting article on the topic of iRounds which included an interview with Dr. Bryan Vartabedian who has been using the platform since the early Beta Testing. Dr. Vartabedian is an early adopter of social media and one of my favorite bloggers. Based on his comments in the story, he sees positive applications for this communications platform. You can access that article by clicking on this link.

For more information about the Doximity iRounds forum, visit www.doximity.com.

The Booming Market for Mobile Health Apps

2012-02-07T06:30:00.000-05:00

Markus Pohl of research2guidance (mobile research specialists) recently contacted me to share his firm's latest research report on the growing mobile health Apps market. Below is some of the information he shared. Much of it will not surprise you. I'll share general information here and you can download the full report for more detail.

We've already seen significant growth for the mHealth app market. In 2012 the market size will nearly double.

According to the report, the smartphone application market for mobile healthcare will reach US$ 1.3 billion in 2012 – up from US$ 718 million in 2011. Despite this substantial growth, the mHealth market is still in an embryonic state – especially in comparison to the US$ 6 trillion of the overall global healthcare market. Several factors (esp. smartphone penetration), will continue, however, to drive mHealth market growth over the next couple of years. These findings are part of our new Mobile Health Market Report 2011-2016 report.

The increase of revenue stems from downloads, in-app advertisements, mHealth services, direct transactions and sensor sales. As a number of big healthcare companies published mHealth apps in 2011 that go far beyond a simple allergy tracker or pill reminder (e.g. Sanofi Aventis’ sensor-based iBGStar Diabetis monitoring app) sensors are a growing part of the landscape.

In 2012 the number of mHealth application users – mobile users who downloaded a smartphone mHealth application at least once – will reach 247 million. Compared to the 124 million users who downloaded mHealth smarthphone applications in 2011, this is a near doubling.

The technical aspects of the healthcare landscape are changing rapidly and fundamentally. Healthcare data, the number of healthcare apps and their usage on mobile phones is growing. It is all evolving around smartphones and sensors attached to the phone.

For more information on the mHealth application market read the report, Mobile Health Market Report 2011-2016. The report describes in a detailed 100 pages the impact of smartphone applications on the mHealth industry. It will help decision makers in the healthcare market to understand the current status of the market, learn about best practices and get insights on future trends and market potentials.

Link to Mobile Health Market Report:
http://www.research2guidance.com/shop/index.php/mhealth-report-1

Link to blog post from research2guidance:
http://www.research2guidance.com/us-1.3-billion-the-market-for-mhealth-applications-in-2012/

Family Blogs, Women's Blogs, Mommy Blogs - But Why?

2012-02-06T06:30:00.000-05:00

Why do so many women blog, and so many other women follow their blogs? In this day and age, I don't believe you can be a successful healthcare marketer without understanding what drives these women to do what they do. The best way I know to understand them is to ask them. About 8 times a year I attend blogger luncheons where we gather female bloggers and they share their stories. Last week I attended a blogger lunch hosted by Lexington Medical Center in West Columbia, South Carolina. We had a special guest blogger attend the luncheon, Erin Akin Carroll, better know as the Blue-Eyed Bride. Erin is a really well known blogger. In fact, she's so successful that she is now having to focus on not becoming a slave to the blog. She blogs for herself and not for her sponsors or her readers. It is important to Erin that she keeps it real.

As a former event planner and current stay-at-home mom, why does Erin blog?

"This is my attempt at chronicling all of my random thoughts, ideas, crazy projects, kitchen disasters, fashion, gorgeous weddings, travel, family stories, and fun with my husband! You may find me to be passionate, random, pessimistic, hopeful and a control freak." (BlueEyedBride.com)

During our luncheon, Erin shared her story with the female bloggers in attendance. Here's her explanation of how she got into blogging:

What I always find compelling is how women talk about the sense of community they find through blogging and social media. Erin is no exception:

If you'd like to learn more about why women blog, check out my earlier post titled Mommy Blogger Videos. There you'll hear women talk about their experiences with social media and blogs.

Finally, here's a Vlog post from the Blue Eyed Bride. This will give you a feel for the type of content she shared with her reader and viewers.

BCBS Website Tells Stories of Nonprofits Making a Healthy Difference

2012-02-03T06:00:00.000-05:00

BCBSNC Foundation Challenges North Carolinians to Get Inspired, Inspire Others

Making a difference in light of daunting realities is the theme for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) Foundation’s new digital storytelling initiative –Inspired (http://www.inspirednc.org>). In an effort to showcase the contributions of local leaders and groups who sometimes go unnoticed, Inspired spotlights the philanthropic works of North Carolina nonprofit organizations and community leaders who are changing their communities for the better. The effort captures the passion and dedication of some of the state’s unsung heroes who are working diligently to improve the lives of their neighbors. This is reminiscent of CNN’s Hometown Heroes initiative – a program recognizing “everyday people changing the world.”

“We recognize that every day in towns and cities across the state, North Carolinians are rolling up their sleeves and making a difference in their communities and the state as a whole,” says Kathy Higgins, president of the BCBSNC Foundation. “We are in awe of the feats many of these organizations have accomplished – they’re committed to a bigger solution and are working tirelessly to succeed. They’ve inspired those closest to them, they’ve inspired us, and now we hope they will inspire others across our state.”

"These stories need to be told. They deserve to be told. You see, these aren’t faceless organizations, these are everyday people who have made the very deliberate choice of improving the world around them. A dentist who could be practicing anywhere, yet he has chosen to be where he is needed most. A family doctor and his medical student who still see value in and make time for house calls. And the hundreds of women in and around Kinston who are making lifelong bonds and life-changing health decisions thanks to the efforts of one woman." (Kathy Higgins, Inspirednc Blog)

One of the most exciting elements of Inspired is the opportunity for visitors to the site to support the work of those BCBSNC Foundation grantees featured in the stories. Each time an online user shares a story through Facebook, Twitter or email, the BCBSNC Foundation will contribute $1 to a fund that will be divided among the nonprofits highlighted on the site. The goal of the campaign is to have stories shared 100,000 times, resulting in $100,000 for these worthy organizations. The nonprofits included in Inspired are:

Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project
Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
Charlotte Community Health Clinic (North Carolina Association of Free Clinics)
Greene County Health, Inc.
North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians
North Carolina Council of Churches
North Carolina Dental Health Fund
North Carolina Parent Teacher Association
Southside United Health Center
Sparkplugs for a Healthy North Carolina (The Rensselaerville Institute)

“It is a real honor to have our work showcased in such a way,” said Carolyn Ward, CEO of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. “Our goal through Kids in Parks is to get children and families outside. The message we want to share is get unplugged and get outdoors. Ironically, we hope sharing this message online is an “aha” moment for parents to disconnect and go outside with their families. That’s a message we feel is worth forwarding on to your family and friends.”

“It’s no small task to mobilize a whole generation to get more active, or to take dental care where it is most needed, but that’s what these nonprofits are doing. They are the lifeline for communities in need,” added Higgins. “The challenges being faced are enormous in size, but the stories of people helping people should inspire us all to pass the message along – because the more people we reach the healthier our communities can become.”

Since the site launched on January 26, 2012, there have been more than 1,000 social shares and 3,056 unique visits to the site. Visit the Inspirednc blog at http://inspirednc.org/blog.

Books On My Bedside Table Waiting To Be Read

2012-01-30T08:37:00.000-05:00

The books are starting to pile up on my bedside table. January was such an intense month that I wasn't able to keep up with my reading or my writing. I didn't get any work done on my book, I've got an article due to eHealthcare Strategy & Trends that I have to finish today, and there are at least three books that I'd like to read but haven't gotten to.

The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer - This book, written by Siddhartha Mukherjee, was recommended to me by an oncologist at the Levine Cancer Institute of Carolinas HealthCare System. The author is a cancer physician and researcher. He is an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University and a staff physician at Columbia University Medical Center. According to the write-up for the book, "it is a magnificent, profoundly humane "biography" of cancer - from its first documented appearances thousands of years ago through the epic battles in the twentieth century to cure, control, and conquer it to a radical new understanding of its essence." This is at the top of my reading list.

The Creative Destruction of Medicine: How the Digital Revolution Will Create Better Health Care - Author Eric Topol, M.D. argues that radical innovation and a true democratization of medical care are within reach, but only if consumers force the issue. Consumers are in the position to force medicine to undergo its biggest shakeup in history. This looks like an amazing book and I can't wait to learn from Dr. Topol.

Healthcare Reform: What It Is, Why It's Necessary, How It Works (Graphic Novel) - This comic book-style introduction to the issues surrounding health care reform, is written by Jonathan Gruber (highly respected economist) and illustrated by Nathan Schreiber. If you'd like to know more, you can reference an earlier post I wrote about this book by clicking on this link ("Can a Comic book Make Healthcare Reform More Palatable or Understandable?").

Each of these books is available online through Amazon.com.

More Images from Yesterday's Health System Launch: Vidant Health

2012-01-26T08:41:00.000-05:00

Here are a few more photos from launch events that took place at hospitals across eastern North Carolina - all part of Vidant Health. For more details, see my two posts from yesterday.

Photo from Vidant Beaufort Hospital's Employee Celebration

Photo from Vidant Beaufort Hospital's Employee Celebration

Employees celebrating at Vidant Beaufort Hospital

Vidant Duplin Hospital Sign Unveiling

Vidant Duplin Hospital Birthday Cake

Vidant Duplin Hospital Upright Banner

Vidant Chowan Hospital Sign Unveiling

Vidant Health Goodie Bags

Vidant Chowan Hospital Employees Celebrating

Two of my favorite marketers from Vidant Health

Birthday Celebration at Vidant Chowan Hospital

New Vidant Chowan Banner

Vidant Pungo Hospital Sign Unveiling

Sign Unveiling at Vidant Bertie Hospital

Vidant Bertie Hospital's Birthday Cake

Party Hats at Vidant Bertie Hospital

Sign unveiling at Vidant Roanoke-Chowan Hospital

Vidant Roanoke-Chowan Hospital Celebration

Vidant Roanoke-Chowan Hospital Celebration

Vidant Roanoke-Chowan Hospital Celebration

Launch Day for a New Health System Brand: Vidant Health

2012-01-25T11:17:00.003-05:00

Today is a huge day for my client, Vidant Health. We have launch activities taking place across eastern North Carolina - a region the size of the state of Maryland. Our goal is to fully engage the 11,000 people who make up this health system. In this post I'll share photos of the new brand rollout in various executions, from bus signage to building signage to digital signage. My goal is to share with you the scope of this undertaking. Enjoy! (More to come as I acquire more digital images throughout the day.)

Digital Signage Reaching Vidant Employees, Patients & Visitors

Digital Signage Promoting Vidant Gear

One last digital sign featuring a QR code linking to the Website

Sunrise on Vidant Medical Center's Birthday

New Interior Lobby Signage at Vidant Medical Center

Press Event: Sign Unveiling at Vidant Medical Center

Press Interviewing a Vidant Medical Center Executive

Health System buses rebranded with Vidant Health logo

Vidant Health Birthday Cake

Employee celebration signage

The Front of Vidant Medical Center with New Signage

The Birth of a Health System Brand

2012-01-25T07:00:00.000-05:00

Today is the birthday of a new health system brand: Vidant Health. If you think about the scope of this health system in eastern North Carolina prior to the launch of its new brand, it had 10 hospitals over a footprint the size of the state of Maryland, a number of primary care physicians offices around the region, a collection of hospitalists, two join ventures with area hospitals, two wellness centers, home health and hospice services and an ambulatory surgery center. All of these had different names, and few consumers in the region really knew they were all part of one entity. Frankly, there was very little to let them know that all of these elements were connected. So the leadership of the health system has taken on the challenge of pulling together all the pieces that make up the organization under one umbrella brand identity that is unique and that accurately reflects who they are. With nearly 11,000 employees, this system is and will continue to be defined by its people. Therefore, we thought it only fitting that the people of Vidant Health introduce the brand. Later in the day I plan to post more information about the launch of this new brand that serves more than 1.4 million people across eastern North Carolina. There will be launch activities in 10 communities across the region. For now, here are a few videos that introduce the brand. Meet the Voices of Vidant Health:

The Founding Fathers, Social Media and the Democratization of Communication

2012-01-23T08:58:00.000-05:00

It has been fascinating to me, as a former student of American Government and political science instructor, to witness the rise of social media within our society. For some time now I’ve wanted to write a blog post about how the Founding Fathers would have viewed this dramatic change in the way people communicate. An understanding of American politics and the political philosophy of the Founders makes the popularization of social media that much more amazing. This is particularly interesting to me given the Founding Father’s distrust of the masses. Below is a quote from Alexander Hamilton, one of the leading political thinkers of the time:

“The people are turbulent and changing; they seldom judge or determine right. Give therefore to the first class a distinct, permanent share in the government. They will check the unsteadiness of the second, and as they cannot receive any advantage by a change, they therefore will ever maintain good government.“ (Source: Alexander Hamilton, Farrand's Records of the Federal Convention, v. 1, p. 299.)

James Madison, in Federalist #10, expressed a similar perspective:

“The latent causes of faction are thus sown in the nature of man; and we see them everywhere brought into different degrees of activity, according to the different circumstances of civil society. A zeal for different opinions concerning religion, concerning government, and many other points, as well of speculation as of practice; an attachment to different leaders ambitiously contending for pre-eminence and power; or to persons of other descriptions whose fortunes have been interesting to the human passions, have, in turn, divided mankind into parties, inflamed them with mutual animosity, and rendered them much more disposed to vex and oppress each other than to co-operate for their common good.” (Source: James Madison, Federalist #10)

Today, in our nation’s third century, there is a communications revolution taking place that may well have stunned our founders. In the 1700s, America’s Founding Fathers worked laboriously to develop a system of government that was insulated from the passions and opinions of the masses. According to James Madison, in Federalist #10, “So strong is this propensity of mankind to fall into mutual animosities, that where no substantial occasion presents itself, the most frivolous and fanciful distinctions have been sufficient to kindle their unfriendly passions and excite their most violent conflicts.” The democratic republic was designed to be slow and deliberate, protecting against rapid changes that might occur in response to the passions and impulses of the common people, entrusting decision-making to “first-class” citizens, those educated and holding property. They would speak for the masses and protect our society from the potential negative effects of true democracy.

“In keeping with their desire to contain the majority, the founders inserted “auxiliary precautions” designed to fragment power without democratizing it. By separating the executive, legislative, and judicial functions and then providing a system of checks and balances among the various branches, including staggering elections, executive veto, Senate confirmation of appointments and ratification of treaties, and a bicameral legislature, they hoped to dilute the impact of popular sentiments.” (Michael Parenti, Democracy for the Few, p.67)

According to Merrill Jensen in The New Nation, the decision-makers of the revolutionary era were an affluent elite. At that time in our nation’s history, these "first-class citizens" were the people with a voice:

“Their power was born of place, position, and fortune. They were located at or near the seats of government and they were in direct contact with legislatures and government offices. They influenced and often dominated the local newspapers which voiced the ideas and interests of commerce and identified them with the good of the whole people, the state, and the nation. The published writings of the leaders of the period are almost without exception those of merchants, of their lawyers, or of politicians sympathetic with them.”

Imagine the Founding Fathers’ reaction to the rise of social media. After working so hard to suppress the opinions of the masses, technology has led to a situation where anyone with Internet access now has a voice and any number of methods for disseminating his or her opinions. Americans today live in the age of the democratization of communication. Certainly one could argue that these new technologies represent an expansion of freedom of expression, but the founders might ask: At what cost?

“It has been observed that a pure democracy if it were practicable would be the most perfect government. Experience has proved that no position is more false than this. The ancient democracies in which the people themselves deliberated never possessed one good feature of government. Their very character was tyranny; their figure deformity. “ ( Source: Alexander Hamilton, Speech in New York, urging ratification of the U.S. Constitution)

If the Founding Fathers were alive today, my guess is they would be congratulating one another for the decisions they made when it came to the design of our government. In an age where the populace has the ability to openly vent its frustration with government policy, our slow and deliberate form of government, with all of its checks and balances, means that dramatic change will not take place over night. And although social media allows the most abhorrent opinions to be expressed, I do believe the Founders would stand behind the individual's right to freedom of expression. The quote below from Thomas Jefferson speaks directly to the belief that our constitution allows for the expression unpopular points of view, even those directly challenging our form of government.

"If there be any among us who would wish to dissolve this Union or to change its republican form, let them stand undisturbed as monuments of the safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it." (Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C., Wednesday, March 4, 1801)

Although social media will be abused and misappropriated, like all forms of communication, my belief is that the Founders would have seen this form of communication as a democratic tool to be protected. If they had technology like this back in the 1700s, some of them may have ended up early adopters, embracing the technology and using it to support their political agenda. Somebody like Thomas Jefferson would probably have been the first in line at the Apple store to get his new electronic device. What do you think? I welcome your thoughts on the subject.

Dentists, Marketing, Legionnaires Disease & Water Walls

2012-01-20T08:25:00.002-05:00

Earlier this week I had a dental appointment (broken tooth). This was my first time visiting this particular practice; my previous dentist retired. Let me set this up by telling you that I have a serious dental phobia! Yes, I work in healthcare everyday and have done so for 20 years, but I have never gotten over the anxiety caused by just thinking about a trip to the dentist. It haunts me.

Early in the morning, before my 8am dental appointment, I checked my email and spent some time on Twitter. It was there that I ran into a link to Paul Levy's post (Not Running a Hospital Blog) about how water walls and water features in hospitals have been associated with the transmission of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 infection. Legionnaires Disease. This is a big deal! Hospitals are unknowingly creating environments that could be harmful to patients, families and employees. And they are doing it with the best of intentions. Anyway, I digress.

I finished reading the post about legionnaires disease, and headed out the door with all kinds of anxiety. Next stop was the dental office. I found the place with no problem and walked in the front door. The place blew me away. It was beautifully decorated and serene. I loved it - until I saw the water wall in the waiting area! I was doomed! What are the odds? The whole experience was surreal. The good news is that my visit to the dentist went really well. They fixed me up and sent me on my way.

The real reason for this blog post is the follow-up email I received from my new dentist the following morning. Yes, I received an email from my dentist. I have never gotten an email from my primary care physician or any physician. Never. I once got a handwritten note from a PA who worked for Minute Clinic and that made a huge impression with me.

The email from my dentist was essentially a thank you note with a link to a patient satisfaction survey. It also contained a "refer a friend" link that took me to a simple referral form (see below). How hard was it for the dentist to send me this "canned" follow-up email or to set up the referral form? Not hard. And they were smart to ask for my email address on the new patient information form.

I once wrote a blog post about how the veterinarian who takes care of our cats is a better marketer than most primary care physicians I know. Now I have to add dentists to the list of superior marketers! Obviously some PCPs have figured all of this out, and some dentists are still living in the dark ages when it comes to running a business. But the stark contrast between my personal experiences with my primary care doctor and my new dentist was stunning. Not to mention the fact that my dentist has created a zen-like setting compared to the institutional feel of my doctor's practice. I know nothing about dentistry, but it could be that there are much better margins in that business that allow for investments in modern facilities and communication technologies. (More direct pay has to be a good thing.) Certainly I know that PCPs are being squeezed very hard right now and it is difficult to run a successful practice in the current environment.

The moral of the story (multiple choice): a) Avoid medical facilities with water walls b) Don't spend time on Twitter before going to the dentist c) There is power in knowledge d) All of the above.

The 2012 Healthcare Marketing Summit: Join Us

2012-01-19T08:55:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I received the brochure and agenda for the 2012 Healthcare Marketing Summit. The Summit is being held in Orlando, Florida at the Ritz-Carlton, April 29 - May 1. Judy Neiman and her team at the Forum for Healthcare Strategists have done a great job assembling a remarkable line-up of speakers for this year's event. I'm really looking forward to being a part of the festivities!

The conference kicks off officially at noon on April 29th. And right out of the gate (1pm) there is a presentation by Karen Corrigan and a panel of experienced marketers discussing how we can position healthcare marketing departments (and marketers) for the future. To show you just how good this conference promises to be, at the same time my friend Jesse Stremcha and his colleague Bjorn Gunnerud are presenting on philanthropy and the importance of collaboration between marketing and fundraising. Jesse is an expert in ePhilanthropy at Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. He is a terrific presenter and will share solid information. So you can see, right off the bat I am conflicted between two promising sessions.

On Monday, April 30, there's a session at 11:15am where Marc Beaumont, Daniel Fell and Linda MacCracken are speaking about using marketing analytics to help drive results for your hospital. Daniel and Linda are two of my favorite healthcare marketers. They are both incredibly smart and deeply immersed in our industry (lots of experience). Their session should be a good one!

There are so many other presentations worth noting. My friends Chris Bevolo and Chris Boyer are presenting on "Breaking the Rules of Website Design." They are great presenters - very entertaining. I am presenting with Jill Lawlor (Cooper University Hospital) and Lyle Green (MD Anderson) on "Integrating New Media into Physician Marketing." We've got a good story to tell. Bill Gombeski from UK HealthCare is presenting on growing new business via word of mouth marketing. Carla Bryant (Corrigan Partners) and a team of presenters will address aligning brands across digital channels - a really important topic that most organizations have not fully addressed. My colleague Gabrielle DeTora is taking on the controversial subject of hospital rankings with her presentation - "Hospital Ranking Matters!" She is presenting with Sean Young of Penn State Hershey Medical Center and Health System.

You can see, this promises to be a terrific conference. Lots of good learning and great people with whom to network. If you haven't already signed up for the conference, you can check it out online by clicking on this link and download the conference brochure. I hope to see you there!

Can a Comic Book Make Health Care Reform Palatable or Understandable?

2012-01-17T14:52:00.002-05:00

Recently I've written blog posts about med students writing poetry, physicians using puppets, and physicians using comic strips as therapeutic tools. These types of stories fascinate me. I love to see our industry stretching itself and reaching beyond current boundaries. If we pay attention, we'll see that there are brilliant people out there innovating every day. That excites me and fuels my passion for this business. Well, today's post is about an economist from MIT who is using the comic book genre to explain health care reform. The story is currently featured on NPR's Health Blog.

Jonathan Gruber, the author of the Healthcare Reform: What It Is, Why It's Necessary, How It Works, is the Director of the Health Care Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research, where he is a Research Associate. He is a co-editor of the Journal of Public Economics, and an Associate Editor of the Journal of Health Economics. All of this in addition to serving on the faculty of MIT.

According to his bio, Gruber was a key architect of Massachusetts’ ambitious health reform effort, and in 2006 became an inaugural member of the Health Connector Board, the main implementing body for that effort. In that year, he was named the 19th most powerful person in health care in the United States by Modern Healthcare Magazine. He was a consultant to the Clinton, Edwards and Obama Presidential campaigns and was called by the Washington Post, “possibly the [Democratic] party's most influential health-care expert.”

Gruber's comic book is illustrated by Nathan Schreiber, writer and artist of the Xeric award-winning independent comic series and graphic novel, Power Out.

One of the really cool parts of this story is that Gruber did not set out to create a comic book. It was his publisher's idea to deliver this message via a graphic format. Gruber wasn't sold on the idea but spoke with his 17-year-old son who is a reader of graphic novels. It was the conversation with his son helped persuade him to try this medium.

The reviews for Gruber and Schreiber's collaboration have been glowing. Here's one example from renowned economist, David Cutler:

“If you want to learn about health care reform, you can do no better than to learn from the master. Jonathan Gruber shows how health care reform works in a way that everyone can understand. Read this book. You will not regret it.” — David Cutler, Professor, Department of Economics and Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

You can learn more about Healthcare Reform: What It Is, Why It's Necessary, How It Works and order a copy for yourself, by clicking on this link. I just ordered my copy from Amazon.

A Snowy Day In Healthcare Marketing

2012-01-13T13:01:00.000-05:00

I managed to fly in to Albany, NY, last night, after delays in Raleigh-Durham and Washington National due to stormy winter weather in the Northeast. It actually seemed balmy when I arrived by way of rental car (4 wheel drive) in Bennington, Vermont. There was snow on the ground and in the air, but it wasn't sticking to the roads. Today is packed with meetings at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center so I was relieved to arrive in Bennington unscathed.

Of course, now the challenge is getting home this evening. The snow is back, and coming down in full force. It is beautiful and I have no problem spending another night in Bennington, if that is what it takes, but I'd much rather get home and enjoy the weekend with my family. Below are a few photos I've taken with my iPhone when I've had breaks between meetings. Enjoy!

Healthcare Awards Season Is Upon Us

2012-01-12T09:23:00.000-05:00

This is the time of year when a number of deadlines for healthcare marketing awards loom large. Here's a list of a few of the healthcare marketing awards competitions with impending deadlines:

Aster Awards (11th annual) - Early submission deadline, February 29, 2012. Late deadline, March 16, 2012. Go to www.AsterAwards.com for more information. This is one of the national healthcare advertising and marketing competitions we make a point of participating in each year. It is sponsored by Marketing Healthcare Today magazine.
Healthcare Advertising Awards (29th Annual) - Early submission deadline, February 17, 2012. Late deadline, March 7, 2012. Click on this link for more information. This is really the grandfather of all healthcare advertising awards competitions. It is sponsored by Healthcare Marketing Report magazine.
Lamplighter Awards - For those of you with hospitals in New England, the Lamplighter Awards is the annual competition sponsored by the New England Society for Healthcare Communications. The early deadline is January 27, 2012. The late deadline is February 10, 2012.

The Long Road to Lexington's New Cardiac Center

2012-01-09T08:45:00.000-05:00

Lexington Medical Center (West Columbia, SC) has been working to bring advanced, comprehensive cardiovascular services to the communities it serves for more than 10 years. In June 2010, I wrote a blog post titled "Lexington Gets a Heart Program: Goal Achieved – 10 Years in the Making." The post was celebrating the fact that this amazing suburban hospital finally received approval from the state of South Carolina to proceed with the development of a heart program that includes a full range of cardiovascular services, open heart surgery and elective therapeutic cardiac caths. Lexington Medical Center is a client of mine and we had worked together for years to achieve this goal. It is an important milestone in the history of healthcare in the Midlands of South Carolina.

This spring, Lexington Medical Center will open its new cardiac center! They've produced a new TV spot to announce the new, expanded cardiovascular services, and I thought I would share it with you here. It is outstanding. Below you'll also find one of the teaser print ads announcing the new cardiac center. Enjoy!

LexMed Cardiac from ConstantNow on Vimeo.

Hospital Print Ads From My Clippings File

2012-01-04T07:00:00.000-05:00

I regularly display hospital print ads on my blog. I found these particular ads in airline magazines. As you might expect, the ads vary in quality. I present them to you in the spirit of sharing and welcome your comments relative to the perceived quality of the various executions. One caveat: I scanned these ads so the quality has been diminished. Enjoy!

My 2011 Year In Review

2012-01-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

At the end of each year I take stock of what I've achieved over that last 12-months. For me, it is the business equivalent of taking time to smell the roses. I don't want to let a year go by without celebrating the victories and assessing the missed opportunities. Each of us spends too much time at our professional life to approach it in anything less than a thoughtful and reflective manner. If you don't do this for yourself (and your business), I highly recommend that you give a shot. That said, here's my review of 2011.

First, here's where I fell short of my goals for the year:

One of my big goals for the year was to finish the book I'm writing about healthcare marketing. That didn't happen. I'm now on track to finish it in June 2012.
Every year one of my goals is to speak at the annual SHSMD conference> I've been fortunate to speak at the last three or four in a row. For whatever reason, it didn't happen this year. Rather than speak at the conference, I led a roundtable discussion and moderated a breakout session. I made the most of it and ended up having a terrific experience.
I seriously neglected my general branding blog (Brand Expeditions) in favor of putting my energy into my healthcare marketing blog. In 2012 I need to figure out what's to become of my Brand Expeditions blog. It is not cool to just let it languish.
I also neglected my personal health and wellness in 2012. No excuses. I just didn't do it. That has to change in 2012. At a minimum I need to eat better and exercise regularly. My daughter says that I say that every year. She's probably right.

Here are some of the milestones from 2011:

My year kicked off with a bang in January when the Joint Commission published an article I co-authored with a group of clinicians from Tufts Medical Center in Boston. The article, “A Multifaceted Approach to Education, Observation, and Feedback in a Successful Hand Hygiene Campaign,” was published in the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, January 2011, Volume 37, Issue 1. That seems like a very long time ago!
Although I didn't speak at the SHSMD conference, I did speak at a number of other conferences including the National Healthcare Marketing Strategies Summit, The Northeast Physician Recruiter Association Fall Conference, and The New England Society for Healthcare Communications Fall Conference. I led a webinar for Progressive Healthcare Conferences and was invited to moderate a webinar for the Forum for Healthcare Strategists.
My clients at Lexington Medical Center in West Columbia, SC, won the national Pink Glove Dance Video Competition. That was very exciting and could not have been more well deserved!
2011 was a good year for my blog. In all, I wrote more than 190 blog posts. More importantly, my blog was successful in engaging readers, receiving more than 330 comments.

In 2011 I had more visitors to my Blog (The Healthcare Marketer) than I had in the prior three years combined. That's exciting and rewarding to see. Momentum is a good thing.
I contributed a chapter to Brian Bierbaum's new book, The Thought Leaders Project: Hospital Marketing. My chapter is titled “The Evolution & Future State of Branded Service Line Marketing.” The book is available through Amazon.com and was published in October 2011. My thanks to Brian for including me in this collaboration.
Again this year I was invited to judge the Web Health Awards and the National Health Information Awards. It is always an honor to sit on the judging panels for these awards competitions.
One of the highlights of my year, certainly a time when I had a lot of fun, was being a guest on Chris Bevolo's Arrogant Healthcare Marketing Bastards podcast, recorded on location at the SHSMD conference in Phoenix. I'm a huge fan of the podcast so it was a special treat for me to sit around the table and rant with my friends Chris Boyer, Chris Bevolo and the team from Interval.
Another highlight was attending the Mayo Ragan Healthcare Social Media Conference in Rochester, Minnesota. Not only did I get to connect with so many of my healthcare social media colleagues, but I also toured Mayo Clinic which was something very special.
In addition to writing my occasional column for Healthcare Marketing Advisor (a HealthLeaders publication), I contributed articles to a number of publications including Healthcare Marketing Report and Healthcare Strategy Alert. My firm and its work were featured in articles in eHealthcare Strategy & Trends, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Marketing Healthcare Today, and Healthcare Marketing Advisor.
My firm was also recognized with 13 Healthcare Advertising Awards, 19 Aster Awards, 11 Lamplighter Awards (NESHCo) and a number of other Wallie Awards, Addy Awards, Web Health Awards, Service Industry Advertising Awards, MarCom Award and a Hermes Award.
It was particularly rewarding in 2011 to see our hospital social media work receive so much recognition. In May 2011, my firm (Jennings) won a Gold Lamplighter Award for its social media campaign promoting the affiliation between Lowell General Hospital and Tufts Medical Center in Massachusetts. The cornerstone of that campaign is the Merrimack Valley Moms blog which has received a great deal of attention. That same campaign received a Silver National Healthcare Advertising Award and a National Web Health Award. Additionally, Jennings’ social media campaign for Signature Healthcare, anchored by the Signature Moms Blog, won a Silver Lamplighter Award in 2011.
As a content generator, I produced 3,178 tweets, 200+ blog posts, 38 articles/posts for Ragan's Health Care Communication News, and 15 unique discussions on LinkedIn Healthcare Marketing Groups.

Now I'm ready to move on to 2012. It is going to be an amazing year.

Target Incites Breast-Feeding Flash Mob - Update

2011-12-31T07:00:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week I wrote a post about the breast-feeding flash mobs that assemble at Target stores around the country in protest of the retailer's alleged mistreatment of women who breast-feed openly in its stores. As an update to that post, I have included a video (see below) that documents the intriguing event through photos.

It goes without saying that the nurse-in garnered a great deal of attention. What we don't know is if it will have any impact of Target and its treatment of women who choose to breast-feed publicly within its stores. Enjoy the video and let me know what you think of this entire episode.

This Retreat Is Moving Forward: The Brattleboro Retreat

2011-12-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

On December 28, 2011, HealthLeaders Media published a story written by Marianne Aiello about The Brattleboro Retreat and the resurgence of its brand after a failed attempt at re-branding via a name change. The Retreat, a mental health and addiction treatment center in Brattleboro, Vermont (a town I once called home!), has a history that dates back to 1834. That is ancient! In the late '90s, a decision was made to change the name of this venerable old institution and it was to be called Retreat Healthcare. Jumping quickly to the end of the story, the name change failed, and people continued to call it The Brattleboro Retreat or The Retreat. If anything, the name change created confusion in the marketplace.

In 2008, the organization reverted back to calling itself The Retreat, and, with the help of some terrific marketing, business is booming. My friend Julia Sorensen is the organization's director of marketing and communication, and she is interviewed in Marianne's story. Julia has done a remarkable job marketing The Retreat and is always a big winner at the New England Society for Healthcare Communication's annual Lamplighter Award event. I first met Julia at one of NESHCo's conferences. I am delighted to see The Retreat and Julia's work receive this recognition within the healthcare industry. It is well deserved.

To read more about this amazing success story, go to http://tinyurl.com/d7pk7zu. The title of the article is: "What's in a Name? Your Organization's Identity."

My Most Read Posts In 2011

2011-12-29T08:50:00.001-05:00

After writing more than 200 posts this year, here is the list (with links) of my most read/viewed blog posts of 2011. It is an interesting mix of stories. I can't wait to see what 2012 brings us.


iPad EMR Apps: A Guide to Electronic Medical Records
Extreme Couponing & Healthy Eating: Incompatable?

Melanoma Video: "Dear Sixteen Year Old Me." Powerful!
A Signature Healthcare Advertising Campaign

New Book: The Social Media Management Handbook
10 Professional Development Tips for Young Healthcare Marketers
What Happens When Nurses Strike?
Hospital & Healthcare Ads: The Good and The Bad
How My Mother Prepared Me For A Career in Healthcare Marketing
Don't Miss The Healthcare Marketing Strategies Summit


The Banal Use of Twitter by Many Hospitals

Breast-Feeding Flash Mob at a Target Store Near You!

2011-12-28T08:11:00.000-05:00

This blog post definitely falls under the category of "Who Knew." According to a report I read on Time.com, women in at least 35 states across America are staging breast-feeding "nurse-ins" at Target stores today at 10am to protest the mistreatment of a nursing mom in its Webster, Texas, store. The protests are also in response to a broader perception that Target is generally inhospitable to women who choose to nurse pubicly in its stores. You can read the details of the alleged mistreatment and Targets mishandling of the ensuing complaint by visiting the original Time.com story at http://tinyurl.com/7khlukl. Here's a brief quote from the story with more of the details:

"In recent years, the nurse-in — a.k.a., the breast-feeding flash mob — has become a protest vehicle for nursing mothers, a means of banding together in solidarity over perceived mistreatment. In the most recent protest of significant size, moms gathered in Whole Foods stores last summer to express their unhappiness that a shopper had been told to cover up while nursing. (Whole Foods apologized, even offering snacks to the miffed crowds.)

But Wednesday’s planned demonstrations appear to be the most comprehensive to date, with more than 100 nurse-ins scheduled at 10 a.m. local time in at leat 35 states. Michelle Hickman, the Houston-area mom at the epicenter of the protest, will be re-visiting the Webster, Texas, store where she says she was hassled last month for breast-feeding her 5-month-old son, Noah, on the floor near the blue jeans display in the women’s department." (Source: Time.com)

According to the Time.com report written by Bonnie Rochman, more than 4,200 people have now "liked" the movement's Facebook page (Target Nurse-in Group). The extensive reach of social media and the power of the Internet have allowed Michelle Hickman and others to quickly rally support and build awareness for this particular cause. Momentum has been driven in part by online media coverage, including an article in The Huffington Post earlier this month. You can find that story at http://tinyurl.com/84v325j. Meanwhile, the Best For Babies Foundation, a breast feeding advocacy group, wrote a story on the subject titled "Target Employees Bully Breastfeeding Mom Despite Corporate Policy." The story was written after the organization was contacted by Michelle Hickman. In their article, Michelle Hickman is interviewed, providing extensive quotes, and Target offers up a formal statement apologizing for its actions. At the end of the article, Best for Babies gives the reader information for taking action and contacting Target. They also provide links to state breastfeeding laws and for reporting harassment and discrimination.

This entire episode speaks to the power of social media as an ideal set of tools for quickly bringing together like-minded people and preparing them to take action. Depending on the circumstances, it may be action on behalf of your organization, or against it. The situation also points out just how costly one episode of poor customer service can be and how important it is that you have an extraordinary service recovery program in place. There will always be lapses in customer service. It is our job to make sure that that those unhappy customers understand that their feedback is valued and that we plan to learn from their experience. Additionally, every employee needs to be aware that each customer interaction could end up as a social media post or tweet. If the customer is dissatisfied, he or she won't just tell 10 friends, they'll tell 250 Facebook friends who each have an additional 250 friends of their own. Word of poor customer service can spread to 62,500 people in the blink of an eye.

So, what if we embraced negative feedback and thanked upset customers for sharing their experiences with us, and for helping us to improve our operations? Would that mindset change the quality of our interactions with unhappy customers? I think so. We'll never make everyone happy, and not everyone wants to be happy or made whole. Some people simply enjoy ranting relentlessly against quality organizations. You'll quickly learn who those individuals are. But the other 99% want to feel good about the brands they do business with - including your hospital. By listening and bearing witness to their experience, you open up the opportunity to transition them from an unhappy customer to a brand advocate.

How to Attract Patients & Keep Them (Healthy) with Social Media

2011-12-23T09:55:00.000-05:00

Guest Post by Katie Matlack, Medical Market Analyst, Software Advice

An interesting article over at Software Advice discusses ways doctors can use social media to enhance their practice. You may have heard about the September survey from QuantiaMD and the Care Continuum Alliance, which reported over half of all doctors use social media because of the benefit it can add for marketing and business development purposes. Beyond this marketing utility, however, other research has shown that getting information from a doctor after an in-person consultation can make patients more likely to take medicine properly and follow their physician’s instructions.

If you’re ready to get social--social networking, that is--here’s the important part. To save time in the long run, you should prioritize knowing your audience and its habits first, before you ever log in to Facebook or LinkedIn. This involves knowing whether or not they even use social media, first of all. Then, you should figure out what they would like to learn about from you. An easy way to find this out might be to leave a quick paper survey in the waiting room for patients to fill out. Once you know that your patients are on social networks and know what kind of information they’d like, you should identify what kind of content will appeal to them:

Think about your audience. For example, if you’re a pediatrician, preteen patients will probably appreciate links to YouTube videos where Justin Bieber talks on the importance of an active lifestyle. But if you’re a physician serving largely college-aged patients, sharing the Bieber video would paint you as out-of-touch.

The next step is to create a schedule and publish regularly. Start out with a Facebook business page that links to your practice website. Then make the move up to LinkedIn, and create a strong profile that accurately reflects your experience, before you reach out to your current and former colleagues. After you’re publishing one to two times each week and feel comfortable at this rate, you can round out your social media presence with a Twitter account. If you approach social media with the intention of creating a two-sided conversation, and you know what kind of information your patients like to hear, you’ll be in good shape.

To read the rest of the article, you can check out the entire post on the Software Advice Blog.

Katie Matlack is the Medical Market Analyst for Software Advice, a company that helps people make choices on electronic medical records software and health information technology.

To Grandmother's House We Go: Holiday Travel & Electronic Devices

2011-12-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

This holiday season, as my family traveled to Pensacola, Florida to spend a couple days with my parents, I had a revelation about the role electronic devices have come to play in our lives. There were three of us in Santa's Sleigh (US Airways Jet) flying to Pensacola: My wife, daughter and myself. And what did our collection of electronic devices look like:

3 Laptop Computers (1 MacBook Pro and 2 Dell Laptops)
4 Cell Phones (3 smartphones, 1 not very smart phone)
2 iPods
1 iPad
1 Kindle - There would have been two Kindles but my wife recently lost her Kindle in an airport while on a business trip.
1 HD Flip Video Camera
1 Canon Digital Camera
1 Nintendo 3DS
1 Wireless Mouse

And that's the list before Santa makes his annual visit to our home!

As I'm writing this on my MacBook Pro, my daughter is playing Angry Birds on my iPad while my wife is checking email on her Dell Laptop and speaking with her office via her Blackberry. Did I mention that we're on vacation? Talk about being connected.

Well, time to go see the grandparents and start another day! Oh, I forgot to mention that my parents (both in their 80s) have wireless Internet at their home. Very accommodating.

Happy Holidays.

"The Doctor as Poet" - NY Times Article

2011-12-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

Many changes that will occur in healthcare will find their origins in our medical schools. That's why articles like the one written by Pauline Chen, M.D. capture my imagination and inspire hope for the future of healthcare. Dr. Chen's New York Times article, "The Doctor as Poet," tells the story of a poetry contest held by Yale University School of Medicine and University College London Medical School. Medical students were invited to send in submissions for a chance to win a $1,500 grand prize. The schools were astonished by the number of submissions (160) and the interest of medical students in expressing themselves through poetry.

In her article, Dr. Chen points out the long-standing connection between poetry and medicine:

"Poetry has long been linked to medicine; in mythology, the Greek god Apollo was responsible for, among other things, both healing and poetry. And poets like John Keats, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. and William Carlos Williams were all trained as doctors. For them and other physicians of their time, reading or writing poetry required skills not that dissimilar from those employed in daily clinical work — an ability to connect emotionally with the subject, as well as careful attention to rhythm, whether it was in the form of verse or heartbeats and breathing." (Source: New York Times, December 1, 2011)

I am encouraged by stories about med students being engaged through poetry, the arts and technology. For more about this particularly story, go to http://tinyurl.com/7olqp6r. If you're interested in reading some of the winning poems, go to http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/doctors-poetry/. They are amazing.

What Healthcare Marketers Can Learn From Rudolph

2011-12-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

Here are a few things that healthcare marketers and communicators can learn from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer:

Sometimes you just aren't appreciated until there's a crisis. It might take a winter storm for your leadership to recognize your value and the value of the communication tools you've built. Are you prepared for your version of the winter storm?
It is important to have friends. Although Rudolph wanted to be independent, he couldn't have achieved prominence without the help of his buddies Yukon Cornelius and Hermie. Today, healthcare marketers have an unprecedented opportunity to network with colleagues and thought leaders around the world via social media. The message: you don't have to go it alone! And you don't have to always reinvent the wheel. Look to your colleagues for support and inspiration.
It is okay to be unique. “All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names. They wouldn’t let poor Rudolph play in any reindeer games.” Let's face it, the little reindeer was ostracized. But Rudolph eventually learned to embrace his difference (that shiny nose). It became an asset and a true point of differentiation. Has your organization worked to define and market your unique points of differentiation? Remember, a "me too" marketing program will most likely yield "me too" results. We should all strive to distinguish our organizations from the rest of the herd.
For people to care, you have to established relevance. Poor Rudolph had to learn the hard way that Santa is somewhat narcissistic and only came to appreciate Rudolph once he saw a use for the "marvelous nose." Until that time, Rudolph was simply an embarrassment. “Then one foggy Christmas Eve Santa came to say, ”Rudolph with your nose so bright won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?” This brings to mind my friend Chris Bevolo's awesome book titled "Joe Public Doesn't Care About Your Hospital." Chris is absolutely right: the public only takes notice when we find ways to make our institutions relevant to their lives. And as Chris points out, most old school marketing tactics just don't get the job done.
No matter how long your organization has been doing things the same old way, change is always a possibility. Just look at the example of Santa. How long had Santa been delivering toys to children around the world before he discovered a new way to fight the winter storm and thick fog? And look at the Abominable Snow Monster. After years of being a bad guy, he was reformed and found a new job working in Santa's workshop. If Santa and the Abominable can change, so can your CEO! Think about that.

Happy Holidays.

29th Healthcare Advertising Awards: Call for Entries

2011-12-16T07:00:00.000-05:00

I recently received the call for entries for the 29th Annual Healthcare Advertising Awards, sponsored by Healthcare Marketing Report. My firm and our hospital clients enter this competition each year. It is definitely one of the oldest and most respected competitions in our industry. Last year they had nearly 4,000 entries.

One of the things I love about this awards competition is that it is affordable - only $30 for early entries (prior to January 27th). After that, entries are $40 - still very reasonable. Healthcare Marketing Report will publish the list of winners on its website (http://www.hmrpublicationsgroup.com) on May 1, 2012.

For more information about the awards, go to http://tinyurl.com/ddzq98. Below is a screen shot of the entry categories and deadline information from their registration form.

December Issue: Healthcare Marketing Report

2011-12-15T16:37:00.000-05:00

(Warning: This post should be filed under the "shameless self promotion" category.) In the December 2011 issue of Healthcare Marketing Report, I contributed an article titled "The Professional Development Imperative." If you don't already subscribe to HMR, I definitely recommend it. Richard Cohen, the publisher, does a terrific job with the publication.

Here's a quote from my article that gives you a feel for the ground it covers:

"To meet these challenges, we need to significantly transform the role of healthcare marketing within our organizations, moving from vendors to strategists. In short, we need to earn a seat at the strategic planning table. To do that, we have to enhance the stature of the healthcare marketing function, and change the way we are viewed by leadership. It is essential that marketing be seen as a professional discipline that helps the organization achieve its business objectives in measurable ways."

Then I go on to call for greater emphasis on continuing education, professional development and a commitment to learning. The body of the article outlines 10 steps the healthcare marketer can take to advance his or her professional stature.

If you get a moment, check out the article and please ignore the very large photo of yours truly.

VA Recruitment Campaign

2011-12-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

Although this campaign has been around for a couple of years now, it still gets my attention each time one of the spots airs. Below I've embedded a video that gives you a behind the scenes look at the making of the campaign along with some background into the recruiting needs of the VA. I'd love to hear what you think of the spots!

#CHPRMS Twitter Transcript from Day One Afternoon Sessions

2011-12-08T08:30:00.000-05:00

I believe that everyone attending the CHPRMS conference fully enjoyed day one. The presentations that I attended were terrific and there was a ton of networking taking place. The highlight of the day was when it started to snow at around 6pm.

For me, it was wonderful to catch up with so many of my healthcare marketing colleagues from throughout the Carolinas: Michele Affronte, Jennifer Wilson, Margaret Gregory, Andre LaCroix, Amanda Brasier, Vicki Stevens and so many more. The group attending my luncheon roundtable was terrific and thoroughly engaged. We had a lively conversation about the role of blogs in healthcare.

Here is the Twitter transcript and accompanying data from the Wednesday afternoon sessions at the Fall CHPRMS conference. All together in day one of CHRPMS, we had 36 different people tweet and achieved more than 115,000 impressions. There we a total of approximately 115 tweets. Of course, some of the people tweeting (on the list below) were not attendees of the conference but rather were tuning in via Twitter from afar.

Twitter Chatter at a Regional Healthcare Marketing Conference: #CHPRMS

2011-12-07T10:43:00.000-05:00

Here's a quick look at the initial Twitter chatter at the CHPRMS conference. It looks like approximately 23 people have tweeted so far. In the report below you can see the impressions generated by each individual. For context, we're only a couple of hours into the first day of the conference - a gathering of nearly 200 hospital marketers and communicators.

Here's the Twitter transcript from TweetReach:

Join Me This Week at CHPRMS: Blogging & Tweeting

2011-12-06T07:58:00.001-05:00

Beginning this Wednesday, I will be attending the annual Fall Conference of the Carolinas Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing Society (CHPRMS) in Asheville, North Carolina at the historic Grove Park Inn. On Wednesday, I'll be leading a roundtable discussion on the use of blogs within healthcare marketing. Of course, all day Wednesday and Thursday you can keep up with activities at the conference by following my tweets (@dandunlop) and live blog posts. I don't know if there is an established hashtag for the event, but following #chprms should do the trick.

The agenda for the conference is packed - both with educational sessions and after-hours activities. Of course, one of the highlights of this event is always the Wallie Awards dinner where CHPRMS recognizes the best in healthcare advertising and marketing within the region.

A few speakers whose sessions I definitely recommend attending:

Linda MacCracken - Something amazing about healthcare marketing
Anne West - Personal Branding
Matthew Dillingham - Web Marketing

I hope to see you at the conference.

SHSMD Connections 2012 Call for Speakers

2011-12-05T07:56:00.000-05:00

Last week I received the Call for Speakers for the Annual Conference of the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development (SHSMD). The 2012 Conference will take place in Philadelphia, September 19-22.

The speakers submission deadline is January 13, 2012. Here' the URL for electronic submission: http://shsmd.scsubmissions.com/index.aspx.

I've spoken at three of the last four SHSMD conferences and participated as a session moderator and roundtable facilitator last year. It is a terrific conference and a great forum for sharing innovative strategies with colleagues from around the country.

Introducing a New Health System Brand: Vidant Health

2011-12-01T06:30:00.000-05:00

For more than a decade, University Health Systems has been a fixture in eastern North Carolina. Over the course of the last 12 years, the organization has quietly assembled a number of component parts that, when channeled together, create a health system with amazing potential for impacting the lives of the 1.4 million people it serves. Today, University Health Systems has 11,000 employees, hundreds of primary care physicians and specialists, 10 hospitals (including an academic medical center in Greenville), and its reach extends across 29-counties of eastern North Carolina.

What University Health Systems has lacked is a singular brand identity. Face it, the name "University Health System" is generic and is shared by a number of organizations across the country. As University Health Systems worked to build its integrated system of care, it became evident that it was time to establish a new brand identity that would effectively communicate the organization's ability and desire to positively impact the health and lives of the people it serves. It was also desirable to bring all of the component parts together under a single brand identity. This would help to limit brand confusion as patients and their families try to navigate within the health system across a broad geography, thereby improving the patient experience. Ultimately, a singular brand identity should improve access by clearly denoting points of access throughout the region.

Introducing the New Brand Identity

Beginning in January 2012, University Health Systems will be rebranded as Vidant Health. Regarding the etymology of the name, the root "Vi" is frequently associated with Life (vibrancy and vitality), and vida literally means life in Spanish. This understanding directly links the new brand name to University Health Systems' long-standing mission, "To enhance the quality of life for the people and communities we serve, touch and support."

What excites me about the new name, other than the fact that it now gives the organization a truly unique identity, is that it is so strong, concise and infused with energy. It speaks directly to the health system's role in improving the quality of life in the region by addressing health issues head on. And it speaks to the organization's passion and focus on achieving its primary objective: Creating a healthier eastern North Carolina.

Before today, you most likely never heard of Vidant Health. There's only one in the country. But get used to hearing the name. This is one organization that is working to set the standard for the delivery of high quality, coordinated care. This health system is going to put as much effort into preventing chronic illness as it does to treating acute events. It is committed to enhancing quality of life, improving access to care, delivering an exceptional patient experience, and achieving optimal outcomes - all necessary ingredients in building healthier communities. And eastern North Carolina, a region known for its high rates of heart disease, diabetes and other chronic illnesses, will be the beneficiary of this commitment. Needless to say, I'm excited to be along for the ride!

For more information about the new Vidant Health brand, go to www.vidanthealth.com.

J&J's Campaign for Nursing's Future

2011-11-30T06:21:00.000-05:00

For years, Johnson & Johnson has been running powerful TV commercials promoting careers in nursing - and celebrating the important work that nurses do. Often these spots end up being some of the best healthcare commercials out there. For your review, I've embedded a couple of the most recent spots below. Let me know what you think.

Hospital Honors Service Men and Women in Holiday TV Spot

2011-11-29T12:07:00.000-05:00

Lexington Medical Center (LMC) in West Columbia, South Carolina, has established a tradition of producing a special TV commercial each year that airs during the holiday season. In many ways, the spot ends up being a gift to the community. Although my firm works with LMC, the hospital's marketing team produces its own advertising, including television commercials. This time of year I'm always excited to see what theme their holiday TV spot will take.

Fittingly, this year the team at LMC used their holiday commercial to recognize the men and women who serve in our armed forces. The holiday season is a wonderful time to recognize the contributions and sacrifices of these individuals and their families back home. You may not know this, but Columbia, South Carolina is home to Fort Jackson, the largest and most active Initial Entry Training Center in the U.S. Army, training 50 percent of all Soldiers and 60 percent of the women entering the Army each year. More than 44,000 soldiers go through basic training and advanced individual training every year at Fort Jackson. Additionally, more than 3,500 active duty Soldiers and their 12,000 family members are assigned to the installation and make the Midlands of South Carolina their home.

With that said, I am proud to share with you Lexington Medical Center's 2011 Christmas television commercial:

Time to Awaken

2011-11-28T09:03:00.001-05:00

Robert Frost said, "I am not a teacher, but an awakener." I think of the spirit of that statement every time I return to the mountains for a much needed respite. The mountains are where I go to recharge my batteries and find inspiration. This Thanksgiving Weekend, with the weather so mild, my wife and I managed to take two amazing hikes in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Below are some photos that will show you the source of my reawakening! I'm nearly ready for 2012.

Sunset on Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T08:49:00.001-05:00

What a beautiful day we had yesterday. We managed to take a 45 minute walk in the morning and then caught the most amazing sunset on our way back from dinner. Below are a couple of photos I took with my iPhone. Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

Back to the Negotiating Table

2011-11-22T15:00:00.000-05:00

Tufts Medical Center, NEQCA and BCBSMA released a joint statement earlier this week stating their commitment to getting this situation resolved. Here is that statement:

I am encouraged that both parties are back at the negotiating table. However, I also want to be clear that the physicians at Tufts Medical Center and NEQCA still need a fair deal from BCBSMA. There are huge disparities between what NEQCA and Tufts Medical Center doctors are paid and what physicians from comparable organizations are paid. That fact is not up for debate. This contract dispute is about fairness and reaching an agreement that puts Tufts Medical Center and these community physicians in a position to survive in this hostile financial environment.

Stephen Syre had an excellent piece in the Boston Globe a couple of days ago. It was titled "Something has to give in Blue Cross, Tufts dispute." (November 18, 2011) Here's a paragraph from his story that sums up the situation with amazing clarity:

"The details of the dispute would make your head hurt. But an important element of the medical center’s position is all about basic fairness. The argument goes like this: Tufts Medical is paid less than some other Boston hospitals by commercial insurers that cover private patients. But about a quarter of patients Tufts treats are covered by Medicaid, and the government’s reimbursements don’t come close to covering the actual cost. Something has to give." (Boston Globe, November 18, 2011)

As Syre pointed out in his article,"Those Harvard-affiliated hospitals also treat many fewer Medicaid patients - as a percentage of a hospital’s total - than Tufts." Those Medicaid patients place an additional financial strain on the hospital. And Tufts Medical Center is doing more than its fair share. Add this to the poor reimbursement levels from private insurers like BCBSMA and you've got a bleak financial outlook. All Tufts Medical Center and NEQCA physicians want is a fair and equitable arrangement. That's not too much to ask.

Finally, I hope BCBS members in Eastern Massachusetts understand that this dispute does not necessarily mean that they have to change their physician. Don't buy into the rhetoric. Given the choice, I would change insurance companies before I changed my physician. That is an option worth exploring! On the KeepMyDoc.org website, NEQCA and Tufts Medical Center have supplied information about health plans you can join that will allow you to keep your physician.

My call to action: Although I am encouraged that all parties are talking once again, it is still important for you to let BCBSMA know that you support Tufts Medical Center and demand that they are given a fair deal. Like all of you, I want this situation resolved as soon as possible. I'd like to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family knowing that Tufts Medical Center and BCBSMA have reached an agreement!

Tactical Healthcare Social Media (#THCSM)

2011-11-22T06:30:00.000-05:00

My friend Howard Luks, an orthopedic surgeon and early adopter of social media, wrote a blog post recently about the need for "practical guidance" for organizations and individuals entering the healthcare social media realm. He has branded this level of content "Tactical Healthcare Social Media" and is using the hashtag #thcsm. For those of you who don't know Howard, he is a trailblazer when it comes to healthcare social media. At New York Medical College he is an Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery where he is training of the next generation of Orthopedic Surgeons. At University Orthopedics, PC and Westchester Medical Center he serves as the Chief of Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy. But enough about Howard, let's talk about his idea!

You can read Howard's post about #thcsm by going to his website and blog at http://www.howardluksmd.com. He is concerned that once an organization or individual decides to engage in social media, they will "require real world, best practice examples of how to proceed, how to follow, who to learn from,..." Despite all the talk about healthcare social media, right now there is very little tactical, real world guidance for people just getting started (physicians, healthcare providers, marketers, nurses). Howard cautions newbies to beware self-proclaimed social media experts. It is his hope that by creating this new twitter hashtag and #thcsm initiative, people with experience in healthcare social media can step up and give newbies much needed guidance. We can use the new hashtag to denote particularly practical pieces of information and best practices.

I plan to write a lot more about this project in the future, and look forward to working with Howard to bring it to fruition. For now, if you're a healthcare marketer or communicator, I recommend you follow Howard Luks MD's blog for a little practical wisdom! He is a straight shooter and brings a distinctive voice to the social media conversation. As you can tell, I am a fan. Go to http://www.howardluksmd.com/orthopedic-social-media/.

Giving Thanks

2011-11-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

As a prelude to Thanksgiving, I thought I'd offer up a few things for which I am grateful.

My family. I am far from the perfect son, husband, brother and father, and I appreciate my family putting up with me over the years - particularly Scotti and Meg. I spend too much time on my work, travel way too often and don't have nearly enough patience.

My sister Kerry who has lived three years with advanced ovarian cancer and is still going strong!

Challenging work that I love. A long list of amazing co-workers has made it easy. Paige Zinn and Dewey Mooring top the list. I've had the pleasure of working with each of them for more than a decade. I believe Paige and I have worked together for 16 years, and Dewey and I have been working together for 22 years.

The professional opportunities I've been given and the help I've received along the way. People like Bernard Kingsley (Durham Regional Hospital), John Stokes (UNC Hospitals) and Karen McCall (UNC Hospitals) made all the difference early in my career. I am grateful for their guidance and mentorship.

My many friends and colleagues in healthcare. This is one of the most rewarding aspects of my career in healthcare marketing. Here are a few of my favorite people (this list is nowhere near complete and does not include clients):

Gabrielle DeTora

Linda MacCracken

Paul Griffith

Judy Neiman

Doug Bennett

Chis Bevolo

Jessica Levco

David Harlow

Jamie Verkamp

Dan Hinmon

Howard Luks

Lee Crouch

Jesse Stremcha

Michele Affronte

Ryan Squire

Chris Boyer

Kelly Woodsum

Jim Rattray

Richard Cohen

Peggy Kane

The many wonderful clients I have represented and the adventures we've had together. My appreciation goes out to each of them. To name a few of them (If I listed the actual individuals, this would be a very long list):

Tufts Medical Center

Signature Healthcare

University Health Systems

East Carolina Heart Institute

Southwestern Vermont Medical Center

Quincy Medical Center

Lowell General Hospital

Lexington Medical Center

Levine Cancer Institute

MetroWest Medical Center

New England Quality Care Alliance

Cooper University Hospital

UNC Health Care

Rex Healthcare

FirstHealth of the Carolinas

My peers, mentors and teachers within the industry. People like Kent Bottles, Lee Aase, Ed Bennett, Dana Lewis, Wendy Sue Swanson, MD, Reed Smith, and so many others.
Finally, I am grateful for 2012 and beyond. I'm just getting started and can't wait to see what the future has in store for me - and for you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Power of the e-Patient: Monday, Nov 21, 2011

2011-11-18T13:05:00.001-05:00

Although most readers of this blog do not live in the Raleigh-Durham Area of North Carolina, I did want to dedicate a post to promoting the upcoming gathering of the The Joe Niekro Foundation Brain Aneurysm Support Group at Duke Raleigh Hospital. The meeting is this Monday evening, November 21 at 6pm. The topic is "The Power of the e-Patient: Social Media Patient Advocacy Presentation."

I'm blogging about this because the topic is extremely relevant and they have two terrific speakers lined up. Laura Haywood-Cory and Sarah E. Kucharski are social media pioneers and patient advocates for their rare diseases. When Laura suffered a heart attack identified as SCAD and Sarah learned that she suffers from FMD, they both discovered that very little is known of their conditions. Using social networking sites, both women have established online support groups and furthered medical research for their diseases. They have been recognized for their success in supporting their own health as well as the health of patients throughout the world with SCAD and FMD. I met Laura Haywood-Cory at the recent Mayo Ragan conference in Rochester, Minnesota, and she has an amazing story to tell! I have been following Sarah on Twitter for some time, and look forward to hearing her story.

I plan to attend the meeting and lend my support - tweeting and blogging as time permits. I invite you to join us to hear how Laura Haywood-Cory and Sarah Kucharski located and empowered SCAD and FMD patients. Learn how they organized self-identified volunteers, enabling physicians to conduct research on their diseases. Special thanks to Janie Schaeffer for organizing the meeting! Janie and I met at the 2011 Mayo Ragan Healthcare Social Media Summit. She is a board member of the Joe Niekro Foundation, a group committed to aiding in the research and treatment of aneurysm patients and families.

Event: The Power of the e-Patient
Social Media Patient Advocacy Presentation
Presenters: Laura Haywood-Cory (@LauraGHC) and Sarah E. Kucharski (@AfternoonNapper)
Sponsored by Duke Hospital and Joe Niekro Foundation
November 21, 2011 at 6:00
Duke Hospital Raleigh
Please rsvp to Janie Schaeffer janie@joeniekrofoundation.org

For more information Monday night's event, go to: http://hosted-p0.vresp.com/1003209/79c6dd68b5/ARCHIVE#like. For more about the Joe Niekro Foundation, go to http://joeniekrofoundation.com/.

More Blue Cross BS in Massachusetts

2011-11-17T09:09:00.001-05:00

"Blue Cross BS." Credit for that phrase goes to my friend Mike Allen. And he has never been more on the mark!

Here's the latest in my rant against that very rich, misguided organization - BCBS of Massachusetts:

In a statement released to the press on November 15th, BCBS of Massachusetts reiterated its commitment to affordable health care:

"The rising cost of health care is one of the biggest challenges facing our community today. We know that health care costs are making our businesses less competitive, squeezing the budgets of government at every level, and consuming too much of family incomes.

At Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA), making quality health care affordable is our top priority. As the state's largest private health plan, we are committed to playing a leading role in developing meaningful and sustainable solutions to rising costs."

This quote is fascinating given that same day, November 15, 2011, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Inc. (BCBSMA) and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts HMO Blue, Inc. (BCBSMA HMO Blue) announced a combined after-tax net income of $78.9 million for the Quarter. Couldn't some of the $78 million been used to reduce the cost of healthcare for people in Massachusetts? So tell me again how BCBSMA is making quality healthcare affordable? Is it by raking in huge profits on the backs of the smaller, less powerful hospitals and community physicians? Yes. And by jacking up health insurance premiums on consumers and small businesses. The only entity that wins is BCBSMA.

Meanwhile, BCBS refuses to fairly compensate smaller organizations: Tufts Medical Center and NEQCA. This is truly a David and Goliath story. Did you know that Partners has rates that are 20 to 40 percent higher that Tufts Medical Center? How does that happen? Ask BCBSMA. And the doctors in Tufts Medical Center's network (New England Quality Care Alliance) are paid at least 20% less than other similar practices in their markets.

Under the current Alternative Quality Contract (AQC) with BCBS, Tufts Medical Center and its physician network have successfully enhanced quality and controlled costs. That's exactly what the program was designed to do. Tufts Medical Center was the first academic center to participate in the highly touted AQC contract with BCBSMA. Under the contract, Tufts Medical Center and NEQCA are providing some of the most cost-effective, high quality care in the region. Their physicians are among the most efficient providers in Massachusetts. Publicly available data shows Tufts Medical Center and NEQCA’s Total Medical Expense, or TME, (the amount of services and costs for the care we provide patients) is well below other provider organizations. In fact, Tufts Medical Center and NEQCA are 7 to 8 percent below the Eastern Massachusetts TME average. Partners is 10% ABOVE and Children’s is 7% ABOVE. (2010 DHCFP, BCBS Health Status Adjusted Commercial TME for Eastern Massachusetts, weighted according to membership) Interestingly, Partners and Children's, two of the most expensive systems in the state, were just rewarded by BCBSMA with 2-3 percent increases. The message: It pays to have clout when you negotiate! The big, powerful and expensive institutions just get bigger and more expensive. And consumers end up footing the bill. Meanwhile, the affordable organizations struggle to survive in this climate.

So where did Tufts Medical Center and NEQCA go wrong? I'll tell you. They never should have believed that BCBSMA would reward efficient, lower cost, high quality providers. Compensation from BCBS is about power and negotiating clout, not about reducing the cost of healthcare. When BCBSMA left the negotiating table earlier this week, it was reported that the two parties were $11 million apart on a $1.2 billion contract. That is very close to the $8.6 million sum that BCBSMA is paying its former CEO, Cleve L. Killingsworth, as part of his exit deal. Pretty sweet. Killingsworth’s predecessor, William Van Faasen, received $16.4 million in retirement benefits in 2006. BCBSMA's track record of excessive executive compensation was well documented in The Boston Globe. Click here for the story.

Here's the deal: BCBSMA talks a good game, but only when it is shaking down providers in the name of "affordable healthcare." Beginning in 2009, the Division of Healthcare Finance and Policy, the Boston Globe and the Massachusetts Attorney General exposed Blue Cross Blue Shield's unfair practices that led to significant payment disparities that between health care providers who offer the same services at the same quality level. So today, no one should be fooled when BCBSMA poses as the defender of affordable care. Case in point: BCBSMA reported $155.5 million in profits for the first 9 months of 2011, yet continues to raise premiums on its members.

Yes, both Tufts Medical Center and NEQCA are my clients. I am loyal to them and know the situation well. I believe that they are committed to providing the best in care at a reasonable rate. And I am outraged by the actions of BCBSMA. If you are equally outraged, please take the time to let BCBS know. Tweet about it. Call BCBSMA at 800-262-2583 or email grievances@bcbsma.com. To learn more you can go to http://www.keepmydoc.org. Or, send a letter to the editor:

To write a letter to The Boston Globe:

Send an email to: letter@globe.com
Use a form provided by the Globe at www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/write/
Fax your letter to (617) 929-2098
Mail your letter to: Letters to the Editor, The Boston Globe, P.O. Box 55819, Boston, MA 02205-5819

To write a letter to the Boston Herald:

Send an email to: letterstoeditor@bostonherald.com
Mail your letter to: Letters, Boston Herald, PO Box 5584, Boston, MA 02205-5843

BCBSMA Is At It Again!

2011-11-16T07:45:00.001-05:00

It's 2011 and it is happening all over again. Deja vu. According to media reports, talks broke down Monday night between BCBSMA and Tufts Medical Center (one of my clients) and its 1,500 member physician network (New England Quality Care Alliance). BCBS walked away from the negotiating table, walking away from tens of thousands of its members in the process. Essentially, BCBSMA is trying to drive a wedge between residents of eastern Massachusetts and their physicians. Once again BCBSMA, an organization stockpiling millions, is trying to get rich on the back of the high quality, financially responsible hospitals and doctors while rewarding the big, high cost providers with impressive increases in compensation. Someone has to hold BCBSMA accountable. To read the story on WBUR, click here.

If you'd like to follow my BCBS Madness blog, click here. I plan to do daily updates to keep people abreast of developments in this case. The blog also provides links to press coverage related to the split. If you'd like to learn how to support Tufts Medical Center and the 1,500 physician impacted by this situation, you can visit http://www.keepmydoc.org. You can contact BCBSMA at 800-262-2583 or email grievances@bcbsma.com. Please send them a message that you value affordable, high quality care and that you want Tufts Medical Center and NEQCA included in BCBSMA’s provider network.

Here's the text from the press release issued yesterday by Tufts Medical Center:

Boston (November 15, 2011) – Tufts Medical Center and Floating Hospital for Children announced today that Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of Massachusetts has walked away from negotiations with the Medical Center and 1,500 physicians – potentially disrupting care for more than 200,000 patients across Eastern Massachusetts.

The surprise move came after Blue Cross officials walked away from the negotiating table early Monday evening, having refused to review a proposal from Tufts Medical Center. With the parties only $11 million apart on a $1.2 billion contract, Tufts Medical Center officials had been optimistic about reaching a resolution that would be good for patients and employers and fair to the Medical Center and its physicians’ network, New England Quality Care Alliance (NEQCA). Tufts Medical Center was requesting an increase across its network of 3 percent, under the rate of medical inflation, and in line with modest increases given to other providers in Massachusetts.

Tufts MC has been negotiating with BCBS for more than four months to secure fair treatment from Blue Cross with regard to physician and hospital reimbursement. BCBS’s actions could result in severe network interruptions for BCBS members, potentially interfering with patient care throughout the Commonwealth. Blue Cross would also saddle employers and consumers with some $70 million in costs by forcing them to use more costly health care providers.

“We’re shocked and disappointed that Blue Cross Blue Shield has chosen this threatening tactic rather than continuing to negotiate a fair contract,” said Eric Beyer, president and CEO of Tufts Medical Center. “BCBS executives had made every indication that our reasonable 3 percent increase was within their parameters and agreement could be reached. We don’t understand why they would walk away when we could work together to enhance patient care and save employers valuable health care dollars.”

BCBS recently provided 2-3 percent increases to several of the state’s highest paid providers.

If an agreement is not reached by January 17th, BCBS of Massachusetts will no longer include Tufts Medical Center and NEQCA in its insurance coverage. Physicians in the network include primary care physicians, pediatricians and specialists from towns and cities including Lowell, Woburn, Winchester, Quincy, New Bedford, Framingham and others. These physicians care for approximately 200,000 patients who would be affected by BCBS’s actions.

Patients insured by BCBS who wish to continue visiting their community physician or Tufts Medical Center should call BCBS to express their concern at 800-262-2583. There are a variety of options for patients who wish to change to a new health insurer that does not cover their physician. For additional information and to see if their physician is impacted, patients can go to keepmydoc.org.

During negotiations BCBS demanded – upon threat of termination – that Tufts MC allocate revenue across its network in ways that were arbitrary, and failed to meet the pressing needs of the impacted hospitals and physicians so they can continue building an accountable system of care. Having an insurer dictate how a network’s resources are used has severe negative implications for patients – restricting the Medical Center’s ability to enhance services and address existing disparities with competitors. BCBS’s proposals also tried to unfairly burden the state’s small businesses by placing a disproportionate increase on HMO policies, which are primarily held by small business owners.

“An insurance company should not substitute its judgment for that of physicians and academic medical center leadership in the internal financial management of a health care organization”added Beyer. “BCBS is attempting to negatively interfere with our internal operations by dictating how we should distribute funds to our community physicians and hospital.”

If Tufts Medical Center, Floating Hospital and NEQCA physicians are not in the BCBS network, the cost to the Massachusetts system would be at least an additional $70 million annually because many patients would be forced to receive care from higher cost providers. BCBS would likely have to increase employer and individual premiums significantly to cover this additional cost for care from more expensive hospitals and doctors.

“Three years ago, we were excited to join BCBS in its stated commitment to reward quality and efficiency. And we’ve done our part and more. Since 2008 our physicians have improved on 88 percent of the Quality Measures in the Alternative Quality Contract with BCBS and we are among the most efficient providers in Eastern Massachusetts,” said Jeff Lasker, MD, a pediatrician and CEO of New England Quality Care Alliance. “Now they want to change the terms. Blue Cross has nationally touted the AQC as a cutting-edge model that pays physicians for performance, not individual services. Yet suddenly they’ve decided to move away from their promises and penalize high-quality providers that deliver care at lower cost.”

Tufts Medical Center and its physician network have requested a modest 3 percent overall rate increase – simply keeping up with the rate of inflation. It is also well below the 5.9 percent premium increase BCBS recently lobbied the state to receive, and would have virtually zero impact on the premiums BCBS charges patients. BCBS reported $76.5 million in profits in the first half of 2011 alone.

The Medical Center is currently paid 20 to 40 percent less than other academic medical centers and is paid far less than many community hospitals in Massachusetts. Children’s Hospital Boston currently receives reimbursements that are double the rate paid to Floating Hospital for Children for the same services to care for extremely complex and sick children, including pediatric trauma patients and children with cancer and serious cardiac conditions. NEQCA physicians are paid significantly less – at least 20 percent in most cases – than large, comparable practices in their markets.

“BCBS has a well established pattern of paying disproportionately, higher fees to less efficient providers,” said Beyer. “In this rapidly changing healthcare environment where the ability to provide efficient, cost-effective healthcare is so vital, Blue Cross Blue Shield is doing the citizens of the Commonwealth a disservice by continuing this harmful practice and making it virtually impossible for lower cost systems of care to compete.”

“The actions of BCBS would hurt thousands of patients, physicians and small businesses in Massachusetts at the worst possible economic time,” said Ted Herwig, MD, chairman of the NEQCA board and a family practice physician on Cape Cod. “It makes no sense that BCBS is refusing a reasonable and modest 3 percent increase for efficient care, when at the same time the employees of NEQCA just received notice of a massive 11.5 percent premium increase.”

What Do Incontinence And Toothpaste Have In Common?

2011-11-15T06:30:00.000-05:00

The answer: Nothing! Okay, that's wrong. The real answer is that they are both sold in pharmacies.

Although, I recently learned that my local pharmacy thinks that incontinence supplies and dental care products are more closely aligned! (See photo below) Yesterday during my lunch break I stopped by the pharmacy to pick up some toothpaste. Probably more than you want to know, but I keep a stash of toothpaste in my desk drawer for that inevitable mid-day tooth brushing. And my supply was running low.

Well, as I scanned the signage in the store I learned that in Aisle 12 they have mouthwash, dental care products, toothpaste and INCONTINENCE SUPPLIES. How does that happen? Who made the decision to group incontinence supplies with dental care products? Does that make sense to you?

As you may know, many toothpaste products now promise to do a number of things including fight cavities, plaque, gingivitis, and tartar build-up, all while freshening breath and whitening teeth. The signage at my pharmacy made me wonder if they have added incontinence prevention to the list of product benefits. Imagine, one day you may be able to buy Crest Pro-Health with Clinical Gum Protection and 12-hour Incontinence Prevention. For what it is worth, it was an amusing moment in my day. Like most disconnects, this one was done mindlessly and unknowingly. I'm probably the first person to come along and point out the incongruity. But I am grateful for it!

My Presentation for the Northeast Physician Recruiter Association Conference

2011-11-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

In yesterday's post I mentioned that I was presenting at the annual conference of the Northeast Physician Recruiter Association. They were kind to invite me to speak at their event. I've uploaded my presentation to SlideShare and embedded it below in this post. Enjoy!

Echo Branding in Physician Recruitment

View more presentations from Jennings (Dan Dunlop)

Presenting Today at the Northeast Physician Recruiter Association (NEPRA)

2011-11-10T06:30:00.000-05:00

Today I am in Manchester, Vermont (at least until 4pm), presenting at the annual conference of the Northeast Physician Recruiter Association. My talk is on the importance of brand experience, particularly online brand experience, in physician recruitment. The question I plan to pose to the group is:

"When a candidate visits your website, what do they learn about how your organization values physicians? More generally, what does that experience convey about how you value employees overall?"

My plan is to look at a number of areas including my single largest pet peeve: the "Find a Physician" section of the hospital website. We'll also look at the hospital press room (how are physicians marketed via media relations), hospital marketing (how are physicians represented in advertising and marketing), referring physician marketing and the "For Health Professionals" section of the hospital website, and the organization's use of social media (physician blogs, Twitter, etc.). In these areas, and many others, whether the organization knows it or not, it is communicating its values related to physicians.

Below is a screen shot I took from a Physician Finder for a hospital (I blocked the name of the physician). This is fairly typical of what I see from organizations around the country. Is this really any way to select or market a physician? And if I'm a physician viewing this, what does it say to me about the effort the hospital is making to market its physicians? In my opinion the photo is a basic requirement. Really what is needed is a corresponding video that introduces the visitor to the physician. Anything less than a video and you're not doing enough to market one of your most valuable assets.

Some things to think about in relation to physician recruitment and the signals you are sending through your online presence and marketing:

Do you have a Guide to Medical Experts within your press room or on your website? Your organization is teaming with medical experts, and they should be promoted to the press.
Have you registered your physicians with Profnet (and other services) as expert sources for health reporters?
Do you have videos of your physicians talking about their areas of specialty? Are these videos available to consumers and referring physicians?
When you hire new physicians do you send out a press release, a targeted mailing, feature them on your website, profile them in internal and external newsletters, or produce an introductory video?
Is your internal newsletter available on your website so visitors and job candidates can review and get a feel for your organization's culture?

Needless to say, there's a lot that can be done in this area. Tomorrow I will post my presentation on this blog via my SlideShare account.

Live Tweeting from the OR

2011-11-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Rex Healthcare in Raleigh, North Carolina, joined the growing roster of hospitals that have now experimented with live tweeting during a surgery. The live tweeting event from the operating room at Rex Healthcare commemorated the hospital’s 2000th da Vinci Robot procedure. This was the first time the hospital engaged a live online audience during an actual procedure. (In the spirit of transparency, Rex Healthcare is a former client of mine and I am still loyal to their brand.)

In the communication I received from Rex's PR firm, there was no indication of the strategic imperative behind the live tweeting, other than commemorating the 2,000th da Vinci Procedure. On its own, completing 2000 robotic procedures is impressive. And it does seem appropriate to commemorate the mastery of one amazing piece of technology by experimenting with a leading edge communications platform like Twitter. Kudos to Rex for dipping its toes in the water. My advice to others thinking about venturing in this direction: only do this kind of thing if you are satisfying or addressing a business objective of your organization. There should be serious strategic intent behind your use of social media. Beware of PR firms that sell you on the sizzle of live tweeting, and hold any proposed action up against your strategic marketing plan.

Here are some stats on the impact/reach of Rex's live tweeting (according to TweetReach):

They reached 13,954 people via 47 total tweets
31 of the tweets originated from Rex Healthcare or UNC Health Care (Rex's parent brand)
Total potential exposure of 55,333 impressions
One blog post from Dan!

It is worth noting that Rex Healthcare is still a relative newcomer to Twitter with just 603 followers. Including yesterday's live tweeting event they have only sent 407 tweets/updates. They are also only following 199 people. Like many others in healthcare, it appears they are still finding their way. For Rex, this is the ideal time for community building, sharing and listening via Twitter.

Below is the transcript from the event. Tweets appear in reverse order - from newest to oldest. The transcript begins with the TweetReach graphs.

Have You Met The Rehabilitator from SonoSite?

2011-11-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

A colleague of mine recently drew my attention to a new ad campaign promoting SonoSite's point-of-care ultrasound system and their Advanced Needle Visualization technology. Below is a screen shot from the landing page of their website. When you view this page, you instantly get a feel for the tenor of the promotion. As you'll see, this is not your typical ad campaign for medical technology!

There's a corresponding TV commercial that is equally dramatic. Check out the TV spot and let me know what you think. I guess one could argue convincingly that these are amazing technologies and there's no reason the advertising/marketing needs to be dry or boring. Would you make that argument? What makes it intriguing to me is that the spot is based on the true story of Dr. Kim Harmon, a sports medicine specialist and team physician. You can see her story at http://www.sonosite.com/dr-kim-harmon-story. It is not often you see a physician featured in such a dramatic manner. They are often positioned as heroes, but rarely to this extent.

Too Much Whining About Klout

2011-11-07T08:45:00.000-05:00

For the last week I've witnessed a lot of people complaining about the changes Klout has made in the way it calculates its measure of social influence. There's been a whole lot of whining on the Internet. My own Klout score dropped 25% overnight! So how do I feel about this new algorithm? I thought I'd bring you my thoughts in the form of a video. But first, here's how Klout talks about the changes: (Source: The Official Klout Blog, October 26, 2011)

"Influence is the ability to drive action and is based on quality, not quantity. When someone engages with your content, we assess that action in the context of the person’s own activity. These principles form the basis of our PeopleRank algorithm which determines your Score based on:

how many people you influence,

how much you influence them and

how influential they are.
We analyze 2.7 billion pieces of content and connections daily. Reaching this scale, we’ve introduced significant upgrades to our platform, allowing us to handle this explosive growth. Now, we can add more networks and other sources of your influence much, much faster."

Halloween Tributes from My Team

2011-11-03T06:30:00.000-04:00

It is fun to work in a business and industry that attracts creative people. This Halloween several members of my staff (primarily Cassie, Megan and Ashley) decided to pay tribute to a couple of their favorite healthcare advertising campaigns. So, each of them came to work dressed as a print ad from one of the campaigns - either our Name Badge Campaign for Southwestern Vermont Medical Center or our Numbers Campaign for Cooper University Hospital. I thought this was a very cool way to blend Halloween into what we do every day at Jennings. As someone who firmly believes in a multidisciplinary approach to marketing, it was remarkable to see a media planner, art director and PR/social media expert all come together in an integrated fashion! Enjoy the photos.

Vermont Physician & Puppets Test New TV Concept

2011-11-01T06:30:00.000-04:00

Dr. Joshua Sherman, a hospitalist practicing at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, is pioneering a new TV concept. He has recently worked with the local public access station in Bennington, Vermont, to produce a pilot episode. According to a report in the Bennington Banner, the show will be called "100 Hospital Drive" and will target adults, despite the fact that Dr. Sherman will have puppets as co-stars.

"Sherman said despite the puppets and up-beat feel, the show is not aimed at the Sesame Street audience. He said the target for this show is healthy people between 14 and 40: Those who need to know about sex, drugs, and sports injuries, those who don’t have insurance and avoid the doctor until they’re in serious condition, and those who have children and possibly aging parents to look after.

He said the show he has in mind fills a gap in health media. Most shows, he said, are either fictional comedies or dramas, while the shows with real doctors are geared at people who are already sick. This would target people who can use the knowledge to keep themselves healthy, and does it in a way that is fun and engaging." (Source: Bennington Banner, October 30, 2011)

For more on this story, visit the Bennington Banner online at http://tinyurl.com/6af5ftf. A similar story appeared on Vermont Public Radio. That story can be found at http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/92373/.

This sounds like a great concept to bring to the Internet. I'm curious to learn if Dr. Sherman or the folks at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (one of my firm's clients) have plans to launch a web series. In any event, it is a very cool concept and I look forward to seeing the pilot episode.

Guest Post: Surviving Mesothelioma

2011-10-31T06:30:00.000-04:00

Today's guest post was written by Heather Von St. James. Heather is a mesothelioma survivor, mother, wife and blogger. You can find Heather blogging at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance Blog.

“You have a tumor.” Dr. Flink’s voice reflected the fact that this was not an ordinary diagnosis. Whatever I had was very bad-I could tell by the way he looked at me. My new daughter, Lily, consumed my thoughts while I was trying to grasp the gravity of my diagnosis.

My diagnosis was mesothelioma, a cancerous mass that grows in the lung’s linings. Those who have mesothelioma are often veterans, or elderly’s in the last stages of life when they get their diagnoses. I was 36, a new mother, and now I also had a potentially incurable cancer.

Dr. Flink gave me three levels of best-case scenarios for my future. The first was to avoid treatment and live about 15 months. I didn’t want this option. The second option was to get treatment at the University of Minnesota or perhaps the Mayo Clinic. I could expect to live possibly five years receiving chemotherapy and radiation at one of these facilities. My last option was to see Dr. David Sugarbaker at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. If I was a candidate for surgery, I could live for ten years or more. My husband didn’t hesitate, saying, “Get us to Boston.”

The surgery offers mesothelioma patients their best chance at survival. It is an aggressive and risky procedure known as an extrapleural pneumonectomy. The surgery removes the whole affected lung, part of the diaphragm and the membrane lining of the lungs and heart in addition to removing the tumor. I was a good candidate for a successful surgery given my age and generally good health.

On February 2, 2006, I underwent surgery, and it went well. I was released after 18 days in the hospital. I received five months of adjuvant chemotherapy afterward. This involved four chemotherapy sessions and 30 radiation sessions. Groundhog Day is known in our house as “LungLeavingDay.” I am cancer free almost six years later, and we still remember this day in our family by writing down what we fear on dinner plates and celebrating as we toss them into a bonfire. Cancer taught me to appreciate the things that really matter in life. To me, those things are family, faith, and humor.

I share my story as a means of hope and inspiration for others. As a survivor, it is my duty to turn my pain into purpose and be someone that others can look to in situations like my own. I want my story to help others overcome their fears when faced with any diagnosis, and to realize that giving up is simply not an option.

Read more at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance

October Wrap Up: A Victory for Breast Cancer Awareness

2011-10-29T13:01:00.000-04:00

October 2011 turned out to be a really good month. At the top of the list was the announcement yesterday that my client, Lexington Medical Center, won the International Pink Glove Dance Video Competition! The win by this suburban hospital in West Columbia, South Carolina, is a testament to the spirit of the employees, the culture of the organization, and the resolve and vision of its marketing team (headed up by my friend Mark Shelley).

This was a big week for Lexington Medical Center (LMC) and its supporters. LMC was featured on the ABC Evening News Thursday night and on Fox & Friends Morning Show Friday morning. Below is the story from Fox & Friends (after a brief commercial interlude):

1st collector for Fox & Friends Pink Glove Story
Follow my videos on vodpod
Earlier in the month I attended one of my favorite events of the year: Women's Night Out at Lexington Medical Center. What could be better than an event that celebrates breast cancer survivors, attended by 500 women? Everyone has a great time.

October also included my participation in the Ragan Mayo Health Care Social Media Summit and my first trip to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. The Summit was an amazing experience, as was my tour of Mayo.

In the middle of the month Brian Biebaum's book was published, The Thought Leaders Project: Hospital Marketing, which contained my chapter on the evolution and future state of service line marketing. It is currently available on Amazon.com in a Kindle edition. The book is a compilation of healthcare marketing insights, tips, and best practices written by leading hospital marketers.

I ended the month by speaking at the New England Society for Health Communications Fall Conference. The topic I covered was using Facebook to engage brand constituents. It was a pleasure to take part in the conference and to listen to the other presentations. Below is the slide deck from my presentation:

Facebook Engagement Strategies for Healthcare Organizations

View more presentations from Jennings

Halloween Is Coming

2011-10-28T06:30:00.000-04:00

For my family, Halloween is a big deal. We have a lot of fun with it. We carve Jack-o-lanterns and transform our house with spooky decorations. This year we even made a haunted gingerbread house (photo below). After a long, hot summer, this is our time for welcoming cooler weather and what I consider to be the most beautiful time of the year (Autumn). Here are some photos I took last weekend of Halloween decor at my home. Enjoy!

Much Ado About Pink

2011-10-27T06:30:00.000-04:00

This year's Pink Glove Dance Competition, sponsored by Medline, has to be considered an overwhelming success. More than 100 organizations submitted videos, hundreds of thousands of people voted for their favorites, communities rallied in support of their local entries, and the competition generated press coverage in markets across the country.

For me, the competition lasted too long and was stressful, to say the least. Throughout the three week voting period (135 or more videos vying for first prize) my client, Lexington Medical Center, held either first or second place. It required a constant effort to sustain the buzz over this extended period of time. Late last night, as the competition was drawing to a close, I told my wife how happy I was to see it end. She was clueless about the contest and asked me to show her Lexington Medical Center's video. She got choked up watching the video. Then she gave me a lecture about how lucky I was to be a part of something so special. That made me think about the impact of all these Pink Glove Dance videos, ultimately impacting breast cancer awareness.

Take Lexington Medical Center's video as a case study. Here's the outcome (s0 far):

60,000+ people "liked" the video during the contest
114,000 people viewed the video on YouTube (Highland Hospital, the runner-up, had 87,000 YouTube views)
Hundreds of Lexington Medical Center (LMC) employees participated in the making of the video
Press coverage of Lexington Medical Center's participation in the Pink Glove Competition was extensive including major stories on local media outlets: WIS-TV, WACH-TV, WLTX-TV, The State Newspaper, The Chronicle. To view samples of the press coverage, go to the LMC blog.
The entire state of South Carolina rallied behind Lexington Medical Center (the State's only entry in the competition).

How can that be seen as anything other than a success? And now imagine 135 organizations going through the same process in their communities. How many people did this promotion touch over the last month? The impact is truly remarkable. The winners are due to be announced tomorrow (October 28th). I've got my fingers crossed that Lexington Medical Center pulled off a first place win. Even if they didn't, this was a huge victory for everyone who participated!

A Catalog Blog Posts From the Mayo Ragan Summit - October 2011

2011-10-26T07:00:00.000-04:00

Not only did the recent Mayo Ragan Social Media Summit stir up a lot of Twitter activity, it also led to a number of blog posts that celebrated, documented and interpreted the event. I thought I would provide a catalog of some of those blog posts so they can be easily accessed. Please note that this list is not in any way comprehensive. Feel free to email me or leave comments about other posts I ought to include on the list.

"David Harlow speaks at Third Annual Health Care Social Media Summit," HealthBlawg by David Harlow, (This provides access to David's PPT presentation from the Summit)| Link
"Health Care Social Media Summit - Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media - Wrapup," HealthBlawg by David Harlow | Link
"Social Media Summit at Mayo Clinic: Day One Exclusive Report," HealthWorks Collective, post by David Harlow | Link
"Social Media Summit at Mayo Clinic: Day Two Exclusive Report," HealthWorks Collective, post by David Harlow | Link
"Social Media Summit at Mayo Clinic: Final Day Exclusive Report," HealthWorks Collective, post by David Harlow | Link
"Why I Blog," Family Medicine Rocks Blog by Dr. Mike Sevilla | Link
"New Mayo Clinic Heart Health Campaign," Social Media University, Global (Blog) by Lee Aase | Link
"Nuggets of Wisdom from #MayoRagan," Shel Holtz (speaker at the Summit), Storified by Shel Holtz | Link
"People I Shook Hands With IRL at #MayoRagan," SarahBethRN.com Blog by Sarah Beth Cowherd, RN, BSN | Link
"#mayoragan Social Media Healthcare Conference – Part 1," Sundog Blog by Alyssa Dahl | Link
"#mayoragan Social Media Healthcare Conference – Part 2," Sundog Blog, by Alyssa Dahl | Link
"Adventures in Social Media Day One," Life Science Nexus Blog | Link
"Mayo Clinic Social Media Health Care Summit: Day 2 and Day 3," Life Science Nexus Blog | link
"Hospitals: Stop Blocking Social Media for Your Employees!" Hive Strategies' Social Media Strategy Blog by Dan Hinmon | Link (My friend Dan Hinmon did some serious blogging during the Summit! Great job Dan.)
"The Story Behind That Viral Video of Mayo Clinic’s Piano-Playing Octogenarians," Hive Strategies' Social Media Strategy Blog by Dan Hinmon | Link
"Hospitals: Use Social Media to Help Patients Heal Healthcare," Hive Strategies' Social Media Strategy Blog by Dan Hinmon | Link
"Mayo Clinic Promotes Heart Health With Tommy Tutone Video Parody," Hive Strategies' Social Media Strategy Blog by Dan Hinmon | Link
"Mayo 2011 Presentation," this is the link to Ed Bennett's presentation form the Summit | Link
"Ed Bennett dazzles the #mayoragan crowd with lots of charts and graphs," from Ragan's Health Care Communication News | Link
"Patients use social media to inspire Mayo Clinic heart research," from Ragan's Health Care Communication News | Link
"Parody of ‘80s tune delivers heart health message from Mayo Clinic," from Ragan's Health Care Communication News | Link
"Mayo Ragan," Brittany Blogs for Big Fish by Brittany McManus | Link
"The Making of ePatient Dave DeBronkart," Vest Blog | Link
"Physicians Tell Other Physicians Why They Should Be in Social Media," Vest Blog | Link
"Mayo Health Social Media Conference: Day Two," Vest Blog | Link
"Social media lessons from health care," OnePersonShop by April Finnen | Link
"#MayoRagan Day 1 Takeaways," Corrigan Partners Blog, post by Kari Skipper Foster | Link
"#MayoRagan Day 2," Corrigan Partners Blog, post by Kari Skipper Foster | Link
"#MayoRagan Day 3," Corrigan Partners Blog, post by Kari Skipper Foster | Link
"Social media summit, network: A list of Twitter resources," Mike Boehmer's Blog | Link
"Think Different In #rochmn for #mayoragan," by Aldon Hynes | Link
"#ff #MayoRagan #mccsm #hcsm," by Aldon Hynes | Link
"#MayoRagan Pre-Conference Thoughts," By Aldon Hynes | Link
"Not Quite Wordless Wednesday," by Aldon Hynes | Link
"#MayoRagan - Fighting the Powerlessness of the Virtual," by Aldon Hynes | Link
"Participatory Medicine in Oncology," ASCO Connection by Michael A. Thompson, MD, PhD | Link (This is Dr. Thompson's very first blog post!)
"What's Next in the Mobile Revolution? Insights from the Mayo Clinic's 2011 Health Care Social Media Summit," ND&P Blog | Link
"Health Care and Social Media: Going to the Dogs can be a Good Thing: Insights from the 2011 Mayo Clinic Health Care Social Media Summit," ND&P Blog | Link
"What's Next in the Mobile Revolution? Insights from the Mayo Clinic's 2011 Health Care Social Media Summit," ND&P Blog | Link

And a few of my Blog Posts:

"My Pilgrimage to Mayo," The Healthcare Marketer Blog, by Dan Dunlop | Link
"Day One of Mayo Ragan Health Care Social Media Summit," The Healthcare Marketer Blog, by Dan Dunlop | Link
"20 People to Meet Today at #MayoRagan," The Healthcare Marketer Blog, by Dan Dunlop | Link
Twitter Transcript from Mayo Ragan (so far)," The Healthcare Marketer Blog, by Dan Dunlop | Link
"Final Thoughts & Photos from Mayo Ragan," The Healthcare Marketer Blog, by Dan Dunlop | Link
"Ankeny, Iowa Couple Dazzles Mayo Clinic Visitors," The Healthcare Marketer Blog, by Dan Dunlop | Link
"Patients Organizing Via Social Media," The Healthcare Marketer Blog, by Dan Dunlop | Link

Patients Organizing via Social Media

2011-10-25T14:47:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned in a prior post, one highlight of the Mayo Ragan Health Care Social Media Summit was definitely the patient panel. The panel was titled “The power of the e-patient.” Katherine Leon and Laura Haywood-Cory spoke powerfully about their experiences as survivors of spontaneous coronary artery dissections (SCAD), and their efforts to network with and organize other women who had survived SCAD. In the end, their efforts lead to patient initiated research (a new buzz phrase) at Mayo Clinic. This is a remarkable story about the patient’s ability to impact the research agenda. If you’d like to read more about this, there’s an excellent Wall Street Journal article titled "When Patients Band Together." Every conference like this should find a way to put the patient in the foreground! Congratulations to the folks behind the Mayo Ragan gathering who had the vision to make this happen.

In a strange coincidence, John Novack, the Communications Director at Inspire (http://www.inspire.com), contacted me more than a week ago to share a report he has written titled The SCAD Ladies Stand Up: Stories of Patient Empowerment. If you're not familiar with Inspire, it is a network of online patient communities. You can download the report by clicking this link: http://bit.ly/n4PK1K. Below is an excerpt from Inspre's special report.

"This special report is not intended to delve into the Mayo Clinic SCAD project itself. The Wall Street Journal, Mayo itself, and other media have covered that topic well. Rather, through first-person narratives of patients, this is a closer look at how several members of the WomenHeart Support Community on Inspire banded together and started something special. We also solicited the perspectives of newer members, who found the community through online searching and the publicity from the announcement of the Mayo project. While Katherine and Laura are from the US, SCAD Ladies are from the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, and elsewhere. As Laura wrote in her essay (see p. 15 of the report), “Online tools and social media can help create a patient community that spans countries and oceans, and with that support backing you up, reach out to the people who can research your condition.”

Although it seems odd to say, too often healthcare marketers and communicators have neglected the patient (and the physician). Social media has empowered patients and will continue to do so in ways we may not expect. It is clear from the example of the Katherine Leon, Laura Haywood-Cory and the SCAD ladies, it's time to tune in and pay attention. I urge you to read the report from Inspire.com: http://bit.ly/n4PK1K.

Ankeny, Iowa Couple Dazzles Mayo Clinic Visitors

2011-10-24T06:00:00.000-04:00

Last week I attended the Mayo Ragan Health Care Social Media Summit. I wrote several blog posts while I was there, trying to capture the essence of the event. However, I didn't have enough time to share everything I experienced. One of the things I still want to share is a video I shot while taking a tour of Mayo Clinic on Monday, October 17, 2011. I was stunned to see the Cowans playing the piano in the lobby. This is the same Iowa couple whose piano duet in the atrium at Mayo led them unexpectedly to YouTube fame. They were gracious to make an appearance at the Mayo Ragan Health Care Social Media Summit last week. What a wonderful couple! Enjoy the video.

Final Thoughts & Photos from Mayo Ragan

2011-10-21T06:30:00.000-04:00

With the prevalence of social media in my life, I make a lot of professional friends that I rarely get to see in person. Often I will know someone online for two or three years before I actually connect with them in real life (IRL). That one of the reason I love attending national conference like Mayo Ragan Health Care Social Media Summit this week. It gave me a chance to connect with several of my professional friends that I had never met IRL. They included people like (consider this a shout out!) Jamie Verkamp (@jamieverkamp), Dan Hinmon (@HiveDan), Howard Luks, MD (@hjluks), Ryan Squire (@RyanSquire), Robert West (@westr), among others. I also got to connect with people that I follow online but had never met in person: @RichmondDoc, @SeattleMamaDoc, @MarkRaganCEO, and @ReedSmith. And of course, I got to reconnect with old friends like ukelele strumming Chris Boyer (@ChrisBoyer) and healthcare attorney extraordinaire David Harlow (@HealthBlawg).

The Summit was an extraordinary event. What made it special was the inclusion of patients and physicians. Too often health care marketing professionals meet and there's not a patient or physician to be found. In my opinion, the patient should always be in the foreground as we discuss how we market, and why we market. And the physician is too often left out of the equation. If you want to figure out how to include physicians in your social media marketing, a great place to start is by listening to a group of physicians who've done it already. Those are things that Mayo Ragan brought to the table that were of immense value.

I'll wrap up by sharing a few more photos from the event. Enjoy!

The Thought Leaders Project : Hospital Marketing

2011-10-20T06:00:00.000-04:00

Several months ago I was approached by Brian Bierbaum, a national digital healthcare consultant, to contribute a chapter to a book he was putting together on healthcare marketing. He called this "The Thought Leaders Project" and was focused on including some of the top minds in our business. I'm honored to have participated in this project with industry thought leaders such as Lee Aase, Chris Boyer, Meredith Gould and Jesse Stremcha.

Whose insights are featured in this book?
Lee Aase - Mayo Clinic
Brian Bierbaum - Priority Integrated Marketing
Kathleen Armstrong - Lehigh Valley Health Network
Chris Boyer - Inova Health System
Randy Bunker - United Health Group
Dan Dunlop - Jennings
Gabrielle Detora - Strategic Healthcare Consultant
Tyler Haney - Wake Forest Baptist Health
Anne Marie Gothard - Mount Sinai Medical Center
Meredith Gould - Healthcare Author and Social Media Counselor
Albert Maruggi - Provident Partners
Lisa McCluskey - Memorial Health Care System
Peggy Mika - Christiana Care Health System
Donna Teach - Nationwide Childrens Hospital
Trisha Torrey - Every Patient's Advocate
Jesse Stremcha - Minnesota Childrens Hospital
Suzanne Sawyer - University of Pennsylvania Health System
Robin Segbers - Segbers Brand Health
Debra Stevens - Phoenix Children's Hospital

The book has just come out in an Amazon Kindle Edition. You can check it out online at http://tinyurl.com/5t5xwqe. The book is a compilation of healthcare marketing insights, tips, and best practices written by leading hospital marketers. It covers a variety of topics such as the application of digital marketing strategies to patient acquisition, patient experience, patient retention, and service line marketing. My chapter is on the evolution and future of service line marketing.

Day 2 Recap: Mayo Ragan Social Media Summit

2011-10-19T09:17:00.000-04:00

There were elements of this day that left me breathless. Literally. This is what healthcare communicators need. Patient panels. Physician panels. Singing presenters. Pediatrician bloggers. Does it get any better than that?

One of the main highlights of Day Two of the Mayo Ragan Health Care Social Media Summit was definitely the patient panel. The panel was titled "The power of the e-patient." Katherine Leon and Laura Haywood-Cory spoke powerfully about their experiences as survivors of spontaneous coronary artery dissections (SCAD), and their efforts to network with and organize other women who had survived SCAD. In the end, their efforts lead to patient initiated research (a new buzz phrase) at Mayo Clinic. This is a remarkable story about the patient's ability to impact the research agenda. If you'd like to read more about this, there's an excellent Wall Street Journal article titled "When Patients Band Together." Every conference like this should find a way to put the patient in the foreground! Congratulations to the folks behind the Mayo Ragan gathering who had the vision to make this happen.

I had been waiting in anticipation to see Wendy Sue Swanson, MD (@seattlemamadoc) present. She was amazing. One of her most important messages was the value of social media as a set of tools for LISTENING. Yes, listening. It is not just about spewing information. It is not advertising. We can use these tools to learn more about the constituents we serve. The audience was captivated by Dr. Swanson and gave her a standing ovation! Here's a brief taste of the reaction on Twitter:

Another highlight was my friend Chris Boyer playing ukelele and singing his social media ROI rag at the end of his presentation. Here's Chris Boyer's social media music video (while you watch this, please remember that Chris was a math major):

Finally, yesterday I published a list of 20 people you should meet while attending the conference (Mayo Ragan Health Care Social Media Summit). Well, here are a few more folks you might want to meet today!

@sarahbethRN - Sarah Beth Cowherd
@FMDGirl - Kari Ulrich
@ks_austin - Kristine Austin
@NinaGWalsh - Nina Walsh
@TexasGirl11 - Melissa Underwood
@ambersmith - Amber Smith

It's been a great gathering. My thanks to every at Mayo Clinic and Ragan Communications for making this possible.

20 People to Meet Today at #MayoRagan

2011-10-18T13:48:00.000-04:00

The Mayo Ragan Health Care Social Media Summit is the perfect place for networking and meeting industry thought leaders. One of the things you'll discover is that these social media experts are very much approachable. Not that you really need it (based on the networking last night at the cocktail reception), but I encourage you to take the time to introduce yourself to these professionals and engage them in conversation.Here's my list of 20 people you should meet while you're here:

@LeeAase - Lee Aase, Mayo Clinic
@HiveDan - Dan Hinmon, Hive Strategies
@HealthBlawg - David Harlow, Attorney Extraordinaire
@Jamieverkamp - Jamie Verkamp, (e)merge
@edbennett - Ed Bennett
@hjluks - Howard Luks, MD
@RaganReporter - Jessica Levco - Ragan Healthcare Editor
@ReedSmith - Reed Smith
@KSkipperFoster - Kari Skipper Foster - Corrigan Partners
@endogoddess - Jen Dyer, MD, MPH
@ChrisBoyer - Chris Boyer, Inova Health
@westr - Robert (Bob) West, SUNY Update Medical University
@RichmondDoc - Mark Ryan, MD
@subatomicdoc - Matt Katz, MD
@DrMikeSevilla - Mike Sevilla, MD
@shelholtz - Shel Holtz
@ctsinclair - Christian Sinclair, MD
@SeattleMamaDoc - Wendy Sue Swanson, MD
@RyanSquire - Ryan Squire, Kindred Health
@ahynes1 - Aldon Hynes

This list is just the beginning. There are so many smart, engaging people to meet. And, of course, you can find me: @dandunlop. If you see me wandering the halls, please come up and say hello.Enjoy the conference!

Day One of Mayo Ragan Health Care Social Media Summit

2011-10-18T09:33:00.000-04:00

I had this amazing moment yesterday. During the lunch break of the Health Care Social Media Summit I decided to run up to my room to catch up on some work. An elderly woman who is receiving care at Mayo Clinic joined me in the elevator. Once the doors closed she turned to me with a great big smile and said: "Isn't it nice here?" That's exactly what Mayo has created. And yes, it is nice here.

The pre-conference workshops yesterday were terrific. In the morning I sat in on Shel Holtz' session on "Hospital Social Media Best Practices." Shel is one of the people who influenced my adoption of social media years ago. In the afternoon I attended the physician panel. How often do any of us get an opportunity to hear four physicians discuss their social media experience? It was a rare opportunity to hear from these four early adopters of social media. The panel included Matt Katz, MD (@subatomicdoc), Mark Ryan, MD (@RichmondDoc), Christian Sinclair, MD (@ctsinclair), and Jennifer Dyer, MD, MPH (@endogoddess). These are people I have followed on Twitter for some time, so it was terrific to have this opportunity to hear them present.

One of the unique aspects of this conference is that it is attended by so many social media users and thought leaders. During the workshops yesterday there were tons of people tweeting. That is not typical of healthcare marketing conferences. Typically you'll only find a small cadre of people tweeting. At one point I went to tweetreach to get a feel for the volume of tweets and the overall reach. At that moment, the most recent 50 #mayoragan tweets (from 34 different people) had reached 277,729 people and achieved 329,589 Impressions. Here's a screen shot of part of the TweetReach report:

The highlight of the day was my tour of Mayo Clinic Campus. The place is spectacular. Special thanks to our tour guide, John Murphy of Mayo Clinic Public Affairs. Below are some photos that I took during the tour:

My Pilgrimage to Mayo

2011-10-17T06:10:00.000-04:00

This week I am making a professional pilgrimage - attending the Third Annual Healthcare Social Media Summit hosted by Mayo Clinic and presented by Ragan Communications. (As some of you might know, I am a regular contributor to Ragan's Health Care Communication News.) I've never been to Mayo Clinic and can't wait. As someone who has worked in the field of healthcare marketing for the last 20 years, I'm like a history buff who is visiting Monticello for the first time.

Of course I'm also going to see some terrific speakers and industry thought leaders while I'm in Rochester, Minnesota. The speakers include Shel Holtz, Lee Aase, Wendy Sue Swanson, MD (Seattle Mama Doc), Dave de Bronkart (e-Patient Dave), Ed Bennett and Chris Boyer. These are all rock stars of our industry, many of whom I know and have seen speak in the past. It is an amazing lineup.

I'm also looking forward to reconnecting with colleagues from around the country. It should be an amazing few days. I am grateful for the opportunity!

Heidi Marble: Author, Artist & Survivor

2011-10-14T15:42:00.000-04:00

Although Heidi Marble and I met only once, I felt an immediate connection. Anyone would. Heidi's that kind of person - she makes an impact. Last year Heidi spoke at one of my clients' breast cancer awareness events and I had the opportunity to meet her and witness her amazing presentation. "Presentation" is really the wrong word. What Heidi does is a one woman show. She is a power house! We've stayed in contact over the last year via email primarily, and I am better off for knowing her.

To give you some background, at age 34 Heidi was diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer. The experience has transformed her and she openly shares her story through her writing (Waiting for Wings), speaking engagements, and her art. She uses a unique form of artwork to generate awareness and to raise money for people with cancer. Heidi takes used costume jewelry, buttons and bobbles that are donated by Cancer survivors and friends, and uses them to create art. Most recently, she has taken photographs of her art and used the photos to create designs for neckties and women's fashion T-shirts. They are available for purchase on her website: http://www.waitingforwings.com.

Earlier this week I was surprised to receive one of Heidi's new breast cancer awareness necktie's in the mail! It was such a thoughtful and well-timed gift. You see, I have a small collection of "pink" ties that I've purchased at events over the years and I wear them throughout the month of October. As you might expect, I wore Heidi's necktie proudly yesterday while visiting one of my hospital clients. The tie prompted comments and gave me another opportunity to tell Heidi's story (as best I can). That led me to this blog post. If you've got a moment, I encourage you to visit Heidi's websites and get to know her. Watch a video of her speaking at an event. She is extraordinary and would be a great addition to any breast cancer awareness event or survivor celebration. And if you need a new necktie for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, or know someone who does, check out her new creations!

Guys and Toilet Paper. Is it a Gender Thing?

2011-10-13T09:03:00.000-04:00

After being on the road (business travel) for a couple of days, I returned to my office to find this in our men's room:

This drives me crazy. Why can't men replace a roll of toilet paper? Do women do this? Is this a gender thing or is it just about people being lazy? (My co-worker Paige tells me that women are just as bad.) Whatever it is, I have no patience for it.

That's my rant for the week. Glad I got it off my chest. Now back to the business of healthcare marketing.

This Guy Wouldn't Miss Women's Night Out

2011-10-12T08:11:00.000-04:00

Every October I drive four hours to Columbia, South Carolina to attend one of my favorite events of the year: Lexington Medical Center's Women's Night Out breast cancer fundraiser. It is a celebration of breast cancer survivors and the wonderful people who care for them at Lexington Medical Center. Last night we had more than 500 people attend the event. I wore my Real Men Wear Pink necktie by Diane Katzman! It is a tie that I bought at this same event two years ago in the silent auction.This year's event event featured a silent auction, physician exhibits, makeup demonstrations, a signature cocktail, a fashion show by Belk featuring breast cancer survivors, and a dinner and talk with a keynote speaker. The speaker was Emory Austin, a 20-year breast cancer survivor who delivered a motivational speech about how her cancer diagnosis became a great teacher and brought renewed purpose, balance and priorities to her life. She did an amazing job!

This year my friend Mark Shelley, the Director of Marketing and Advertising at Lexington Medical Center (LMC), introduced the hospital's Pink Glove Dance Video to the attendees. LMC is currently in first place in the Pink Glove Dance competition. The video was incredibly well received by the live audience. Below is Mark's introduction to the video:

I'm definitely proud of my affiliation with Lexington Medical Center and it is an honor to be a part of event's like their Women's Night Out. You can view Lexington Medical Center's Pink Glove Dance Video at http://pinkglovedance.com/competition/entry-39. They really did a great job.